FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A new study from Colorado State University explores whether stress can pass between parents and kids. Denver7 spoke with the professor who helped conduct the study and found that in extreme cases, kids will adapt to stress.
Psychology Professor Kimberly French said during the study, researchers found parents with higher stress levels had kids with fewer hours of sleep and worse sleep quality. The study used a diary method, and it showed kids eventually will adapt to more stressful conditions at home.
French said the study compared parents with more stress versus parents with less stress. The research team found that daily, there was not a huge finding. However as parents started to stress more day by day, that is when their little ones started getting less sleep. When kids really started getting impacted, they started to sleep more in response.
French did say that an adaptive response comes with other negative effects as well.
"We saw parents with more work stress, had adolescents who reported more dysregulated stress hormones, cortisol. Specifically, their adolescents reported fewer sleep hours, and their adolescents reported worse sleep quality," French said.
While not all parents work, Denver7 gathered some tips from Mental Health America that all parents can apply to hopefully reduce the stress you bring home:
- Be efficient with your time at work
- Ask for flexibility
- Take a five-minute break
- Communicate effectively
You can read the entire CSU study in full here and find some more helpful tips on how you can de-stress here.
