All the Luxuries Parents Would Give Up for Just One Good Night’s Sleep

You’re not alone if you can’t remember the last time you got some serious snoozing in. Hatch Baby, a parenting company that features products to help families sleep better, surveyed more than 1,000 moms and dads for its Family Sleep Report, and the results leave a lot to be desired.

Ninety-four percent of parents say they faced sleep disruptions over the course of the past year. And babies are a whole other (beautiful) beast of their own. Studies show parents lose sleep for up to six years after baby is born. In fact, the Family Sleep Report revealed 77 percent of parents with a baby or toddler and 52 percent with a preschooler lose sleep because of their child crying during the night. And it’s not just tears that affect parents’ sleep cycles—47 percent of parents with a baby or toddler and 60 percent of parents with a preschooler say their sleep is disrupted when their tiny human sneaks into their bed during the night. Another not-too-surprising takeaway? Moms are significantly more likely than dads to say they’re responsible for their child’s bedtime routine.

Which is why one in four parents today are only getting three to five hours of sleep every night. Moms and dads are so desperate for a little R&R, they’re willing to trade in some of the finer things in life just for a good night’s sleep.

What Parents Would Do For One Good Night’s Sleep

• Seventy-seven percent of parents with kids ages 5 and younger are willing to give up something they love or do something they dislike
• Forty percent of parents would give up social media for a month
• Thirty-nine percent of parents are willing to sit in traffic for an hour
• Thirty percent of parents were willing to get dental work done

To lessen the burden, caregivers have a few tricks they keep up their sleeves to help with bedtime routines. Some of their most popular practices to create healthy sleep habits include nightlights (23 percent), diaper changes before bed (22 percent), sound machines (19 percent) and feedings before bedtime (17 percent).

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