Uncommon Knowledge
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Small acts of kindness can go a long way, especially when they allow a mother of three to get a little more sleep, as shown in a viral TikTok video.
Racking up over 380,000 views, the clip shared by @jspring531 shows a sweet gesture from her husband, who was preparing their toddler’s breakfast before his work day. The text superimposed on the images says he starts work at 5 a.m. but, before leaving, he places an iPad next to a bowl of cereal for their child to hopefully leave the mother of three sleep a little longer.
The Sleep Foundation says adults should get seven hours or more of sleep, but research has found that women are more sleep deprived than men if they have children at home.
The 2017 study led by Kelly Sullivan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, was presented at the 69th annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers looked at data from a national survey of 5,805 people; They were all asked how much sleep they got, with seven to nine hours a day considered optimal and less than six hours insufficient. They were also asked how many days they felt tired in the past month.
Among 2,908 women aged 45 and younger, researchers found that the presence of children in the household was the only factor affecting sleep duration.
Each child increased the risk of sleep deprivation by almost 50 percent. Only 48 percent of those with children managed to get at least seven hours of sleep, compared to 62 percent of those without children. Having children at home was not linked to men’s sleep duration.
Sullivan’s comments were shared on the American Academy of Neurology website. She said: “I think these findings could be empowering for women who report feeling exhausted.
“Our study found that not only do they not get enough sleep, but they also report feeling tired throughout the day.”
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the comments section was flooded with praise for the dad who went out of his way to help his wife get more sleep.
At the time of writing, the clip shared two days ago (June 19) has over 33,500 likes and over 530 comments.
“This is true love. I don’t care what anyone says,” one user posted, while another agreed: “It’s the little things, he’s a keeper who thinks of mom .”
“I thought I was the only mom sleeping while my kids had breakfast,” one user commented, and the mom replied, “You’re not alone!”
“I love it but I refuse to use the iPad for my kid,” wrote another, and the mom responded, “Me too…until I had 3 kids and now they have one.” They all have one, they just have daily limits!”
News week contacted @jspring531 for comment via TikTok. We have not been able to verify the details of the case.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.