It’s undeniable: sleep is essential to how we function. A good night’s rest can leave us feeling productive and revitalised. Lack of sleep and sleep deprivation, however, is something that happens to the best of us. Unsurprisingly, new parents are among those who suffer the most.

Our new research highlights the struggle new parents face in getting enough sleep every night, with 70% of parents with babies under the age of 18 months reporting their quality of sleep has progressively worsened since caring for their new-born. But what’s keeping them awake?

Parents naturally worry about their kids, but it is proving to keep them up at night - nearly 2 in 5 parents (37%) are kept up worrying about their babies breathing properly with a further 52% worrying their baby will need a feed. The research also shows that 74% have poor quality of sleep, naturally as a result of their baby waking and crying in the night.

Without enough sleep, we can feel stressed, anxious and irritable. The research underlines this showing how sleep deprivation can have a knock on effect on other aspects of our lives. As well as affecting relationships between partners (59%), over one in six with children under 18 months have lost friendships due to not getting enough sleep. Another factor seen in the research, shows half eat less home cooked meals as a knock-on effect of not sleeping enough.

Bringing a good night’s sleep to UK parents

Following success in the US, Canada and Australia, the Owlet we’re now launching in the UK. Introducing the revolutionary Owlet Smart Sock 2. UK parents can now access cutting edge ‘pulse oximetry’ technology in their own home to track their baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels unobtrusively, while baby sleeps.