A prospective study of the relationship of sleep quality and duration with gestational weight gain and fat gain

Objective: To examine associations of sleep duration and quality with pregnancy-related changes in body weight and fat.Methods: Pregnant women (N = 458) obtaining obstetric care through the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Healthcare System were recruited at ≤12 weeks gestation and followed through delivery. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index measured sleep duration and quality in early and late pregnancy. Weight was measured at each pregnancy medical visit and skinfolds were measured each trimester. T-tests examined sleep changes from early to late pregnancy, and regression analyses estimated associations of sleep quality and duration with gestational weight gain (GWG) and fat gain (GFG).Results: Sleep quality and duration declined across pregnancy. A greater proportion of women with high early pregnancy BMI (>25) reported low sleep quality and short sleep duration. GWG adequacy was not associated with sleep quality or duration while greater GFG was associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration in late pregnancy, but not early pregnancy. Conclusions: Greater GFG was associated with poorer sleep quality and shorter sleep duration in late pregnancy. Experimental studies are needed to test the direction of causality between GFG and sleep attributes.