(Yes, I hear you laughing.)

A new study found that moms who regularly slept for five hours or less when their babies were six months old were much more likely to still be packing the baby pounds when the babies turned a year old. Three times more likely, in fact.

“We’ve known for some time that sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain and obesity in the general population, but this study shows that getting enough sleep — even just two hours more — may be as important as a healthy diet and exercise for new mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight,” said Erica Gunderson of Kaiser Permanente, which runs hospitals and clinics in California.

Wouldn’t we all sleep more (and better) if we had the opportunity to do so? With a new baby, that’s just not always possible - particularly if there are other children in the household.

At least they thought of that:

“With the results of this study, new mothers must be wondering, ‘How can I get more sleep for both me and my baby?’ Our team is working on new studies to answer this important question,” said Dr. Matthew Gillman of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

I’m not going to hold my breath on that one, gentlemen.

Posted by Sunshine.