Astbury Laura, Crowther Meagan E, Pinnington Donna M, Milgrom Jeannette, Bei Bei
School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia.
Austin Health and Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Parent-Infant Research Institute, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 5;15(1):24076. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09541-7.
Evidence on longitudinal bi-directional relationships between sleep and mental health in the perinatal periods is lacking, with infant sleep rarely considered in this relationship. This study analysed data from a randomised controlled trial to investigate the bi-directional relationships between maternal sleep, infant sleep, and maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms, and explored moderators of these associations. A nulliparous community sample (N = 163, Mage = 33.47, SDage = 3.52) self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms, maternal sleep, and infant sleep over 7 timepoints from 30 weeks' gestation until 2 years postpartum. Data were analysed using cross-lagged panel analyses, controlling for group allocation. Depressive symptoms prospectively predicted maternal insomnia symptoms during late pregnancy. Prospective bi-directional associations between maternal sleep and maternal mood were found across the first 2 years postpartum, and maternal sleep at 6 months showed robust effects on subsequent maternal mood. Concurrently, maternal sleep was correlated with infant sleep, and maternal mood was correlated with maternal (but not infant) sleep. These associations were not moderated by demographic, sleep, or mental health related factors explored. Future studies are needed to examine whether intervening on sleep or mental health may be protective of the other.
围产期睡眠与心理健康之间纵向双向关系的证据不足，这种关系中很少考虑婴儿睡眠。本研究分析了一项随机对照试验的数据，以调查母亲睡眠、婴儿睡眠与母亲抑郁和焦虑症状之间的双向关系，并探讨这些关联的调节因素。一个初产妇社区样本（N = 163，年龄中位数 = 33.47，年龄标准差 = 3.52）在从妊娠30周直至产后2年的7个时间点上自我报告了抑郁和焦虑症状、母亲睡眠和婴儿睡眠情况。使用交叉滞后面板分析对数据进行分析，并控制分组情况。抑郁症状前瞻性地预测了妊娠晚期母亲的失眠症状。在产后的头2年中发现了母亲睡眠与母亲情绪之间的前瞻性双向关联，6个月时的母亲睡眠对随后的母亲情绪有显著影响。同时，母亲睡眠与婴儿睡眠相关，母亲情绪与母亲（而非婴儿）睡眠相关。所探讨的人口统计学、睡眠或心理健康相关因素并未调节这些关联。未来需要开展研究，以检验对睡眠或心理健康进行干预是否可能对另一方起到保护作用。
