Who are the most sleep-deprived people? U.S. researchers say the answer is clear: single mothers.
A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that 44 per cent of single moms living with children under the age of 18 fall short of recommendations to get at least seven hours of shut-eye each night.
Single dads who live with their kids fare a little better 鈥� 38 per cent of them sleep less than seven hours per night.
Overall, single parents had the worst odds of getting a good night鈥檚 sleep. But couples with children in their homes also suffered in the sleep department 鈥� 33 per cent of them slept less than seven hours per night, compared with 31 per cent of adults who didn鈥檛 live with kids. That difference, while small, was statistically significant.
Although single moms were more sleep-deprived than single dads, the reverse was true for moms and dads living with their nuclear families. The report found that 34 per cent of these dads got less than seven hours of slumber, compared with 31 per cent of moms. This small difference was also statistically significant.
Single parents also had the most trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, according to the report. Researchers found that 24 per cent of single moms and 17 per cent of single dads said they had trouble falling asleep at least four times a week.
That compares with 14 per cent of moms and 10 per cent of dads who live together.
In addition, 28 per cent of single moms and 19 per cent of single dads had trouble staying asleep four or more times a week. They were joined by 21 per cent of moms and 13 per cent of dads who lived with their partners.
However, couples living with children were better off in these respects than adults without kids in their homes. According to the report, 19 per cent of these women had trouble falling asleep and 24 per cent of them had trouble staying asleep at least four times a week. For men, 13 per cent had trouble falling asleep and 18 per cent had trouble staying asleep at least four times a week.
In each type of family, women were more likely than men to report difficulty falling and staying asleep a majority of the time.
All of this troubled sleep made a difference in the morning. Fully half of single parents living with kids 鈥� including 52 per cent of single moms and 40 per cent of single dads 鈥� did not feel well rested four or more days a week.
