Culture Post: Working From Home Leads to Kids Getting More Sleep, but More Depression for Parents

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted babies’ sleep by 40 minutes a day, according to a new study. Researchers from Flinders University say having to work from home has had some real benefits, with parents feeling less drowsy during the day and children getting more shut-eye at night. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, as kids have also spent more time looking at screens and adults are feeling more depressed during quarantine.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, health officials have been asking the public to stay home to prevent COVID-19 and its variants from spreading. Being forced to work from home and avoid socializing has taken a toll on people’s mental health, but it’s also changing family dynamics as well.

Professor Michal Kahn says that for infants, night-time sleep duration is rising, but screen time is also going up too. For parents of infants, daytime sleepiness is actually going down, but they’re also experiencing mild increases in depressive symptoms. Kahn adds the study highlights the need to raise awareness to reduce infant screen-time and the daytime stresses many parents feel.

The findings appear in the journal Sleep Medicine.

Source: StudyFinds
https://www.studyfinds.org/working-from-home-parents/

Find more culture news on HomeWord’s Culture Blog, named in 2021 for the sixth consecutive year, as one of the top 50 culture blogs on the planet!

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[reposted by] Jim Liebelt

Jim is Senior Writer, Editor and Researcher for HomeWord. Jim has 40 years of experience as a youth and family ministry specialist, having served over the years as a pastor, author, consultant, mentor, trainer, college instructor, and speaker. Jim’s HomeWord culture blog also appears on Crosswalk.com and Religiontoday.com. Jim and his wife Jenny live in Quincy, MA.

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