When new mothers complain that all the sleepless nights spent caring for their little ones are taking years from their lives, they might be right.
In fact, lack of sleep accelerates aging.
This is evidenced by a study by UCLA, University of California at Los Angeles, published in the journal Sleep Health.
The researchers monitored 33 mothers during pregnancies and in the first year of the babies' life, analyzing DNA from blood samples to determine their "biological age", which may differ from the chronological one.
It emerged that one year after giving birth, the biological age of mothers who slept less than seven hours a night at the 'mark' of their baby's six months of life was 3 to 7 years older than those who were resting. for a longer time. Mothers who slept less than 7 hours also had shorter telomeres in white blood cells. These pieces of DNA at the ends of the chromosomes act as protective 'caps'. Shortened telomeres have been linked to a higher risk of cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases, and premature death.
"The first months of sleep deprivation after childbirth could have a lasting effect on physical health - highlights first author of the study, Judith Carroll - we know from a large number of researches that sleeping less than seven hours a night is harmful to health and increases the risk of age-related diseases ".
The nightly sleep of the new mothers participating in the study ranged from 5 to 9 hours, but more than half rested less than 7 hours, both six months and a year after giving birth, the researchers report.
Carroll urges new mothers to take advantage of opportunities to sleep a little more, taking naps during the day when their baby is asleep, accepting offers of care from family and friends. "