Abstract
Aims: Parents often experience sleep disturbances during the neonatal period. However, few studies have examined both objective and subjective sleep quality in fathers. The purpose of this study was to characterize men’s sleep quality from pregnancy through 6 months postpartum, and to explore its association with depressive symptoms.
Methods: This prospective observational study was performed in Japan. Men with primiparous partners at greater than 20 weeks gestation were recruited. Sleep was assessed both objectively and subjectively using actigraphy and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data were collected at five time points: late pregnancy, and 1, 2, 4, and 6 months postpartum. Changes in continuous variables across the five time points were analyzed using the Friedman test, and changes in proportions were examined using Cochran’s Q test. Associations between sleep parameters and depressive symptoms were analyzed using Spearman’s rho or Mann-Whitney’s U test. This study was approved by the ethics committee of the principal investigator’s institution .
Results: Data of 15 of the 20 male participants were valid for analysis. There were no significant changes in subjective sleep quality across the five time points. However, objective sleep quality assessed by actigraphy worsened significantly from late pregnancy to 1 month postpartum. Specifically, nocturnal sleep minutes decreased (419.0 vs. 380.4, p < 0.05), sleep efficiency decreased (97.5% vs. 93.2%, p < 0.01), nocturnal waking minutes increased (10.1 vs. 26.4, p <0.05), nocturnal waking episodes increased (0.5 vs. 1.6, p < 0.01), and sleep latency increased (5.9 vs. 9.0, p <0.05). There were no significant changes in depressive symptoms. However, subjective sleep quality 1 month postpartum was significantly positively correlated with depressive symptoms at the same time point (rho = 0.53, p <0.05).
Conclusions: Study participants’ objective sleep quality worsened significantly from late pregnancy to 1 month postpartum. Furthermore, subjective sleep quality at 1 month postpartum was significantly associated with depressive symptoms at the same time point. These findings suggest that nursing care aimed at preventing depressive symptoms should focus on deterioration in sleep quality between late pregnancy and 1 month postpartum.
Notes
References:
1. Horwitz, A., Bar-Shachar, Y., Ran-Peled, D., Finkelstein, O., Ben-Zion, H., Bar-Kalifa, E., Meiri, G., & Tikotzky, L. (2023). Sleep of mothers, fathers, and infants: a longitudinal study from pregnancy through 12 months. Sleep, 46(9), zsad029. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsad029
2. Iwata, H., Seki, M., Mori, E., Maehara, K., Kimura, K., Toyama, F. (2025). Sleep quality and depressive symptoms in men during their partner's pregnancy: A cross-sectional observational study using actigraphy, Journal of International Nursing Research, 4(1), e2022-0034, https://doi.org/10.53044/jinr.2022-0034
3. Marthinsen,G. N., Helseth, S., Småstuen, M., Bjorvatn, B., & Fegran, L. (2024). A comparison of sleep, insomnia and health-related quality of life between mothers and fathers of preterm versus full-born infants: A longitudinal study from Norway. Sleep Science and Practice, 8, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41606-024-00103-w
Sigma Membership
Epsilon Phi
Lead Author Affiliation
Iryo Sosei University, Iwaki, Fukushima, Japan
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Observational
Research Approach
Quantitative Research
Keywords:
Primary Care, Fatherhood, Sleep, Mood (Psychology)
Recommended Citation
Iwata, Hiroko; Seki, Marika; Mori, Emi; Maehara, Kunie; Kimura, Kayoko; and Toyama, Fusae, "Sleep and Mood in New Fathers: A Longitudinal Study from Pregnancy to Six Months Postpartum" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 10.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/posters_2026/10
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-22
Funder
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan
Sleep and Mood in New Fathers: A Longitudinal Study from Pregnancy to Six Months Postpartum
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Aims: Parents often experience sleep disturbances during the neonatal period. However, few studies have examined both objective and subjective sleep quality in fathers. The purpose of this study was to characterize men’s sleep quality from pregnancy through 6 months postpartum, and to explore its association with depressive symptoms.
Methods: This prospective observational study was performed in Japan. Men with primiparous partners at greater than 20 weeks gestation were recruited. Sleep was assessed both objectively and subjectively using actigraphy and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, respectively, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data were collected at five time points: late pregnancy, and 1, 2, 4, and 6 months postpartum. Changes in continuous variables across the five time points were analyzed using the Friedman test, and changes in proportions were examined using Cochran’s Q test. Associations between sleep parameters and depressive symptoms were analyzed using Spearman’s rho or Mann-Whitney’s U test. This study was approved by the ethics committee of the principal investigator’s institution .
Results: Data of 15 of the 20 male participants were valid for analysis. There were no significant changes in subjective sleep quality across the five time points. However, objective sleep quality assessed by actigraphy worsened significantly from late pregnancy to 1 month postpartum. Specifically, nocturnal sleep minutes decreased (419.0 vs. 380.4, p < 0.05), sleep efficiency decreased (97.5% vs. 93.2%, p < 0.01), nocturnal waking minutes increased (10.1 vs. 26.4, p <0.05), nocturnal waking episodes increased (0.5 vs. 1.6, p < 0.01), and sleep latency increased (5.9 vs. 9.0, p <0.05). There were no significant changes in depressive symptoms. However, subjective sleep quality 1 month postpartum was significantly positively correlated with depressive symptoms at the same time point (rho = 0.53, p <0.05).
Conclusions: Study participants’ objective sleep quality worsened significantly from late pregnancy to 1 month postpartum. Furthermore, subjective sleep quality at 1 month postpartum was significantly associated with depressive symptoms at the same time point. These findings suggest that nursing care aimed at preventing depressive symptoms should focus on deterioration in sleep quality between late pregnancy and 1 month postpartum.
Description
Focus: Clinical
Status: Completed Work/Project
In this study, we investigated changes in sleep and mood from late pregnancy to 6 months postpartum in 15 Japanese men. Objective sleep quality worsened 1 month after birth, whereas subjective sleep and depression did not change significantly. However, poorer subjective sleep 1 month postpartum correlated with more depressive symptoms. These results suggest that early postpartum deterioration in sleep may increase the risk of depressive symptoms in new fathers.