Working mothers are sacrificing sleep to balance jobs and families
Working mothers wake at 3:30am or 4am to handle work deadlines and exercise, finding no other time.
Working parents with school-age children face a time crunch that has no easy answer. Georgie Dent, CEO of independent parent advocacy organisation The Parenthood, highlighted the mismatch between standard work and school hours, revealing parents need significantly more time to manage both demands.
The reality, according to women interviewed at school gates and community events, is that mothers sacrifice sleep to balance everything. One executive wakes at 3:30am for work on demanding projects.
Another wakes at 4am to fit in exercise, then stays up late for downtime too. These mothers are literal heroes: one commands a ship; another is a high-powered lawyer showing up at pickup with a container of snacks.
But their superpower comes at the cost of lost sleep.
- 3:30am
- Wake time for work
- 4:00am
- Wake time for exercise
- Georgie Dent, The Parenthood
- CEO
Why it mattersParents, particularly mothers, are exhausting themselves to manage careers and family care because our work and school systems don't align.
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