Study: Men don't hear a baby's cries at night!

Are you secretly suspecting your husband of pretending to be asleep when your baby cries at night? Do you think your husband is just trying to escape from what is supposed to be a shared responsibility?

A study tells us that he may really be sleeping after all. Researchers from MindLab, as commissioned by a British manufacturer of cold and flu tablets, wanted to find out what can disturb men and women in their sleep.

According to the study, women are most likely to wake up at the sound of a baby's cries while interestingly men are sure to jolt out of their sleep when they hear the sound of a car alarm.

Researchers conclude that the differing sensitivities of men and women to sounds during sleep may primarily be due to the fact that they are wired differently. Women quickly respond to anything that poses a threat to their children while men are alarmed when they hear anything that can harm the entire family.

Other sounds that rouse women out of their sleep are these: a dripping tap, rowdiness outside, snoring, buzzing fly, drilling, sirens, car alarm, howling wind and noise from the drains.

For men, it's a totally different list: howling wind, buzzing fly, snoring, noise from the drains, crickets, emergency sirens, clock ticking, drilling and dripping tap. At least, they are equally disturbed by the sound of snoring!

Now you're feeling just a tad bit guilty for screaming at Hubby for not waking up when Junior needed a change, aren't you?

This article was first published in the Asian parent.