Single Moms Facing Sleep Problems

Studies have shown a lack of sleep can lead to many diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and depression, and sleep-deprived people are more likely to be involved in automobile crashes and workplace accidents. Federal researchers say the answer is clear: single mothers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a new report showing that 44 percent of single mothers living with their children younger than 18 get less than the recommended sleep of at least seven hours per night.

Overall, the researchers found single parents were most likely to get less than 7 hours sleep each night; 42.6% of single parents reported getting less than 7 hours sleep, compared with 32.7% of adults from two-parent families and 31% of adults living without children. The report shows that 38% of single dads sleep less than seven hours per night. According to the report, 8 percent of these adults took sleep medications at least four times a week, compared with 7 percent of single parents and 4 percent of adults living with their partners and their kids. This small difference was also statistically significant. Single parents also were more likely to get a poorer quality of sleep and to suffer from insomnia as well. Moreover, 28% of single moms and 19% of single dads had trouble staying asleep four or more times a week.

The series was created to serve as an educational tool and resource for those trying to better understand the importance of sleep for healthy function for everyday living – an important lesson, especially for those raising children on their own. In fact, the report found 24 percent of single mothers and 17 percent of singer fathers had difficulty falling asleep at least four times a week.

“Among women, roughly one-quarter of single parents frequently had trouble falling asleep, which was greater than the 14.3% of women in two-parent families and 18.5% of women living without children who frequently had trouble falling asleep”, the survey noted.

All of this troubled sleep made a difference in the morning.

Half of single parents living with kids did not feel well rested four or more days a week.

He said the study findings were not surprising since single parents have more responsibilities than adults in a two-parent family.

The statistics could have hidden good news that parental sleep deprivation doesn’t last lifelong, no matter you are married, or a man or a woman.

The CDC used data collected from the 2013-2014 Nation Health Interview Survey, conducted annually on some 44,000 participant, about equally divided between men and women.