A Man Said Sleep Deprivation Was NBD, And Parents Came With The Receipts

Good news, parents! Turns out that if you’re suffering through the sleep deprivation that comes with a new baby (and all of it’s symptoms), there’s actually a novel solution! According to one X user, you just have to grow up and get over it.

Yes, folks, you heard it here first. Don’t you feel so awake now?

On Monday, X user Santi Ruiz shared the tweet, writing “The sleep deprivation is fine. It’s totally fine. You suck it up and then it’s over. Grow up.”

Though Santi suggested he didn’t want to “stir the parenting discourse pot,” it certainly had that effect. Parents were, predictably, pissed.

Many pointed out the extreme effects sleep deprivation can have on new parents.

Other users noted how sleep deprivation is not necessarily a short-term issue for many parents, with multiple kids or one child particularly uninterested in sleep can stretch on for months, or even years.

Users also noted that, if the original poster felt sleep deprivation was NBD, he might not be the parent actually getting up when duty calls.

It should be noted that the science sides with the parents on this case: sleep is good, a lack of sleep can be really, really bad.

The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School (yes, sleep is so important there’s a whole division to study it!) points out a number of disease and safety risks associated with a lack of sleep. Specifically, they link sleep deprivation to increases in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and mood disorders. It can also cause decreased immune function, and even lower life expectancy.

Sleep deprivation is also dangerous in our day to day lives, as the Division of Sleep Medicine notes that 20 percent of all motor vehicle crashes are caused by drowsy driving — think about how many people probably tried to “suck it up” and drive while tired and have caused an accident!

And yes, extreme exhaustion can result in dangerous behavior, like shaking a baby. As this BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth study shows, a vicious cycle of infant crying and increasing exhaustion in parents leads to a higher risk for shaken baby syndrome or other forms of child abuse.

So yes, chronically fatigued friends, please feel vindicated that feeling like absolute death after months of sleeping in two-hour shifts actually is quite bad for you — and you’re not being dramatic for feeling that way. It is literally a big deal.