“Tired but wired” - First-time parents lived experiences of sleep loss, tiredness and wellbeing during the first six months postpartum
- 1School of Health and Human Performance, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
- 2School of Psychology, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Abstract
Objectives: Sleep loss is a common experience amongst first-time parents and can result in postpartum fatigue. There is a lack of research on first-time parents’ lived experiences of sleep and sleep loss, and its associated effects on mental health, parental relationships, and overall wellbeing as new parents. We examined first-time parents’ perceptions, experiences and attitudes to sleep loss, tiredness and wellbeing during the first six months postpartum in Ireland. Methods: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen first-time parents (female n = 10, male n = 4) from October to December 2025. The interviews took place online. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Four themes were identified: 1) the gendered experience of sleep as a new parent, 2) (in)ability to sleep, 3) postpartum wellbeing struggles and 4) resilience and adapting. These themes highlighted how first-time parents navigate their sleep in their new role as a mother or father, their difficulty getting adequate sleep, complex wellbeing struggles as a result of sleep loss, and the discovery of new ways to function when dealing with sleep loss in the postpartum period. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for healthcare professionals to recognise postpartum sleep loss as both a physiological and psychological experience, and to incorporate holistic, routine discussions of sleep into postnatal care.
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BibTeX
@article{spence2026tired,
title = {{“Tired but wired” - First-time parents lived experiences of sleep loss, tiredness and wellbeing during the first six months postpartum}},
author = {Shannon Hughes Spence and Aileen Leech and Hannah Goss and Siobhán O’Connor and Sinéad Smyth and Anna Donnla O’Hagan},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0347558},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0347558},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - “Tired but wired” - First-time parents lived experiences of sleep loss, tiredness and wellbeing during the first six months postpartum
AU - Shannon Hughes Spence
AU - Aileen Leech
AU - Hannah Goss
AU - Siobhán O’Connor
AU - Sinéad Smyth
AU - Anna Donnla O’Hagan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0347558
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0347558
AB - Objectives: Sleep loss is a common experience amongst first-time parents and can result in postpartum fatigue. There is a lack of research on first-time parents’ lived experiences of sleep and sleep loss, and its associated effects on mental health, parental relationships, and overall wellbeing as new parents. We examined first-time parents’ perceptions, experiences and attitudes to sleep loss, tiredness and wellbeing during the first six months postpartum in Ireland. Methods: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen first-time parents (female n = 10, male n = 4) from October to December 2025. The interviews took place online. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings: Four themes were identified: 1) the gendered experience of sleep as a new parent, 2) (in)ability to sleep, 3) postpartum wellbeing struggles and 4) resilience and adapting. These themes highlighted how first-time parents navigate their sleep in their new role as a mother or father, their difficulty getting adequate sleep, complex wellbeing struggles as a result of sleep loss, and the discovery of new ways to function when dealing with sleep loss in the postpartum period. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for healthcare professionals to recognise postpartum sleep loss as both a physiological and psychological experience, and to incorporate holistic, routine discussions of sleep into postnatal care.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -