Summary: A daily-diary study of new parents shows that sleep and exercise influence mothers and fathers differently. Overall, getting more sleep and physical activity on a given day tends to improve well-being and relationship quality. Yet fathers who slept more than other fathers in this sample reported lower overall well-being and less closeness with their partner and child, while mothers who slept more than other mothers reported higher well-being. The study also found that when fathers exercised more than usual, couple conflict was less likely that day; when mothers exercised more than usual, couple conflict was more likely. Researchers suggest these gender differences may reflect caregiving roles and shifts in responsibilities that occur when one parent takes time for self-care.
Source: Penn State
Sleep and exercise affect new parents, but not always the same way for mothers and fathers
Sleep and physical activity play important roles in the daily lives of new parents, influencing mood, couple relationships and parent–child closeness. A team led by researchers at Penn State used daily interviews to examine how variations in sleep, exercise and everyday stressors related to parents’ well-being and family interactions about ten months after a child’s birth.
The study found that, in general, days with more sleep and more physical activity were associated with better personal well-being and stronger family connections. However, patterns differed by parent gender. Fathers in this sample who slept more on average than other fathers reported lower overall well-being and felt less close to their partner and baby. By contrast, mothers who slept more on average than other mothers reported greater well-being.
Exercise also showed contrasting day-to-day associations. On days when fathers exercised more than usual, couples were less likely to argue. When mothers exercised more than usual, arguments were more likely to occur. The authors note that these associations do not prove causation, but they point to how daily routines and role expectations may shape family dynamics.
“Fathers may resist or feel resentful when mothers spend more time than usual on their own needs such as exercise, leaving fathers to pick up more responsibility for child care — leading to arguments,” said Mark Feinberg, research professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State, who led the study. “It’s also possible that extra time spent caring for the child is stressful for fathers, making them more irritable on those days.”
The research appears in the Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development and focuses on daily fluctuation rather than long-term averages. Examining day-to-day variation helps researchers understand how short-term changes in sleep, activity and stress are linked with changes in mood, couple interactions and parent–child closeness. This approach can identify practical targets for improving parents’ day-to-day functioning and well-being.
Study design and measures
The analysis included nightly phone interviews with 143 mothers and 140 fathers conducted for eight consecutive days, roughly ten months after the birth of their child. Each parent was interviewed separately about the previous 24 hours. Questions covered time spent sleeping, at work, doing chores and engaging in physical activity, as well as daily stress, emotional well-being and the quality of relationships with their spouse and child.
By collecting repeated daily reports from both parents, the researchers could separate stable individual differences (for example, one parent typically sleeping more than another) from within-person day-to-day changes (for example, a parent sleeping more than usual on a particular day) and examine how those patterns related to mood and relationship outcomes.
Practical implications for supporting new parents
Feinberg and colleagues emphasize that early parenthood is a high-stress period for individuals and couples, but also a vital time for infant development when stable caregiving and parental well-being are particularly important. The findings suggest several practical takeaways:
- Small, day-to-day improvements in sleep or physical activity may support better mood and relationship functioning for parents.
- Interventions that focus on reinforcing what already works on typical good days—rather than trying to overhaul routines completely—may be more feasible and effective.
- Couples may benefit from discussing expectations around self-care and caregiving, so that one partner’s time for exercise or rest does not unintentionally increase the other partner’s stress or resentment.
The researchers also point to the potential of smartphone apps and wearable devices to help parents track daily sleep, activity and mood. With added features that allow parents to compare patterns across different experiences and with one another, these tools could help families identify strategies that produce more positive days.
Authors, funding and further information
The study was led by Mark Feinberg at Penn State. Co-authors include David Almeida (Penn State), Damon E. Jones (Penn State), Brandon T. McDaniel (Illinois State University) and Siwei Liu (University of California, Davis). Funding was provided in part by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Source:
Penn State
Media contacts:
Katie Bohn – Penn State
Image source:
The image is in the public domain.
Original research: Closed access. Title: “Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Children’s Development.” Mark Feinberg et al. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. doi: 10.1111/mono.12404
Abstract summary: The monograph highlights the importance of including fathers in research on parenting and child development. It outlines a developmental ecological systems framework to understand the varied roles fathers play, describes empirical approaches for measuring father–child relationships, and discusses broader social and contextual influences that shape fathering and child outcomes. The collection advances theory and methods for studying how fathers affect children’s development.