Demographics and Perceived Insufficient Sleep in US Adults
Demographics and Perceived Insufficient Sleep in US Adults
It has become increasingly recognized that insufficient sleep is associated with adverse health outcomes. Studies have observed that sleep duration and daytime sleepiness varies by sex and marital status. Few studies have examined the impact of the number of children on sleep. To evaluate the association of marital status and number of children with insufficient sleep and in a large national sample. We analyzed data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, a population-based telephone survey of non-institutionalized US adults (N = 395,407), in which respondents were asked, "During the past 30 days, for about how many days have you felt you did not get enough rest or sleep?" We used sex-specific, multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess the associations of marital status (married, previously married, never married) and the number of children in the household with frequent insufficient sleep (≥14 days in past 30 days) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and education. In this study population, 23% were never married, 60% were married, and 17% were previously married. Forty-three percent reported having children aged <18 years in the household. Married men (24.3%) were less likely to report frequent insufficient sleep than never married men (28.0%) or previously married men (28.8%). Never married women (33.4%) were more likely to report frequent insufficient sleep than currently married (29.0%) or previously married women (29.0%). The likelihood of frequent insufficient sleep increased in a linear fashion with the number of children in the household for all subgroups (P < 0.05) except among never married men. These findings suggest that the presence of children in the household often increases the frequency of insufficient rest or sleep among the adults with whom they reside. Thus, health care providers may wish to consider the presence of children under 18 years of age a potential "risk factor" for insufficient sleep when counseling adults in the household about the importance of sleep to overall health.
Insufficient sleep poses a substantial economic burden to society and is surprisingly prevalent. Specifically, 40% of respondents to the National Sleep Foundation's 2005 Sleep in America Poll reported they averaged 6.9 h or less of sleep over the preceding 2 weeks. These findings are particularly important as insufficient sleep can exacerbate the course of chronic conditions and augment the social disability associated with them. Additionally, insufficient sleep has been associated with self-reports of fair or poor general health, pain, smoking, obesity, and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders. Results from the 2007 Sleep in America Poll similarly found that poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were independently associated with poor health and psychological distress among women.
Given the gravity of these findings, research has been directed at identifying factors associated with the increased risk of insufficient sleep. Previous research in this area has found that unmarried individuals are significantly more likely to sleep for a short duration and, consistent with these findings, that married people reported less excessive daytime sleepiness than all other groups. In other studies, however, married and single people reported less sleep problems than their divorced or widowed counterparts and, specifically, reported fewer periods of short sleep. These results suggest that changes in marital status may conceivably prove disruptive of sleep.
Women have, characteristically, reported more sleep problems than men. However, using data from the American's Use of Time Project, Hale found that men were significantly more likely than women to be "short sleepers"—defined as sleeping less than 6.5 h per night. Results obtained by other investigators corroborate these findings. Thus, the sleep problems reported by women would seem not to be related to total sleep time, but attributable to other factors. Arber, Bote, and Meadows found that while women reported significantly more sleep problems than men, this appeared to be largely attributable to the relative socioeconomically disadvantaged status of women relative to men.
The impact of children on the sleep of adults in the household has not been widely investigated and has frequently been investigated only in the context of the postpartum period. When modeled as a continuous variable, the number of children in the household under 15 years of age was found to be associated with insomnia in adult household members. However, it must be noted that insomnia is but one of several forms of disturbed sleep.
Previous research has indicated that marital status, gender, and the presence of children in the household appear to be important considerations in the sleep of adult household members. Yet, this research also reveals a number of limitations, such as dichotomizing the number of children in the household (≤2, >2), considering the age of children but not the number of children in the household, and examining marital status but not the presence of children in the household. These limitations render it difficult to assess possible interactions between gender, marital status, and the number of children in the household.
The present investigation examines the role of all three of these variables—adult gender, marital status, and the number of children in the household—as well as their potential interaction, in a large sample of adult community-dwellers who indicated how frequently over the past 30 days they perceived that they got adequate rest or sleep.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
It has become increasingly recognized that insufficient sleep is associated with adverse health outcomes. Studies have observed that sleep duration and daytime sleepiness varies by sex and marital status. Few studies have examined the impact of the number of children on sleep. To evaluate the association of marital status and number of children with insufficient sleep and in a large national sample. We analyzed data from the 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, a population-based telephone survey of non-institutionalized US adults (N = 395,407), in which respondents were asked, "During the past 30 days, for about how many days have you felt you did not get enough rest or sleep?" We used sex-specific, multivariate logistic regression analyses to assess the associations of marital status (married, previously married, never married) and the number of children in the household with frequent insufficient sleep (≥14 days in past 30 days) after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and education. In this study population, 23% were never married, 60% were married, and 17% were previously married. Forty-three percent reported having children aged <18 years in the household. Married men (24.3%) were less likely to report frequent insufficient sleep than never married men (28.0%) or previously married men (28.8%). Never married women (33.4%) were more likely to report frequent insufficient sleep than currently married (29.0%) or previously married women (29.0%). The likelihood of frequent insufficient sleep increased in a linear fashion with the number of children in the household for all subgroups (P < 0.05) except among never married men. These findings suggest that the presence of children in the household often increases the frequency of insufficient rest or sleep among the adults with whom they reside. Thus, health care providers may wish to consider the presence of children under 18 years of age a potential "risk factor" for insufficient sleep when counseling adults in the household about the importance of sleep to overall health.
Introduction
Insufficient sleep poses a substantial economic burden to society and is surprisingly prevalent. Specifically, 40% of respondents to the National Sleep Foundation's 2005 Sleep in America Poll reported they averaged 6.9 h or less of sleep over the preceding 2 weeks. These findings are particularly important as insufficient sleep can exacerbate the course of chronic conditions and augment the social disability associated with them. Additionally, insufficient sleep has been associated with self-reports of fair or poor general health, pain, smoking, obesity, and an increased risk of psychiatric disorders. Results from the 2007 Sleep in America Poll similarly found that poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were independently associated with poor health and psychological distress among women.
Given the gravity of these findings, research has been directed at identifying factors associated with the increased risk of insufficient sleep. Previous research in this area has found that unmarried individuals are significantly more likely to sleep for a short duration and, consistent with these findings, that married people reported less excessive daytime sleepiness than all other groups. In other studies, however, married and single people reported less sleep problems than their divorced or widowed counterparts and, specifically, reported fewer periods of short sleep. These results suggest that changes in marital status may conceivably prove disruptive of sleep.
Women have, characteristically, reported more sleep problems than men. However, using data from the American's Use of Time Project, Hale found that men were significantly more likely than women to be "short sleepers"—defined as sleeping less than 6.5 h per night. Results obtained by other investigators corroborate these findings. Thus, the sleep problems reported by women would seem not to be related to total sleep time, but attributable to other factors. Arber, Bote, and Meadows found that while women reported significantly more sleep problems than men, this appeared to be largely attributable to the relative socioeconomically disadvantaged status of women relative to men.
The impact of children on the sleep of adults in the household has not been widely investigated and has frequently been investigated only in the context of the postpartum period. When modeled as a continuous variable, the number of children in the household under 15 years of age was found to be associated with insomnia in adult household members. However, it must be noted that insomnia is but one of several forms of disturbed sleep.
Previous research has indicated that marital status, gender, and the presence of children in the household appear to be important considerations in the sleep of adult household members. Yet, this research also reveals a number of limitations, such as dichotomizing the number of children in the household (≤2, >2), considering the age of children but not the number of children in the household, and examining marital status but not the presence of children in the household. These limitations render it difficult to assess possible interactions between gender, marital status, and the number of children in the household.
The present investigation examines the role of all three of these variables—adult gender, marital status, and the number of children in the household—as well as their potential interaction, in a large sample of adult community-dwellers who indicated how frequently over the past 30 days they perceived that they got adequate rest or sleep.
Source...