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Poor sleep common among spouses of military members
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Spouses of military personnel experience significant sleep problems, according to findings presented at the SLEEP 2016 annual meeting.
“Spouses of military service members experience numerous stressors that may place them at high-risk for sleep disturbances,” Wendy Troxel, PhD, of the RAND Corporation, and colleagues wrote.
Wendy Troxel
To determine prevalence of sleep disturbances in spouses of military members, researchers evaluated 1,480 female spouses of deployable military members as part of the Deployment Life Study. Spouses completed self-reports regarding sleep, physical health, marital satisfaction and depression.
Overall, 44% of spouses reported sleeping 6 hours or less per night.
Fifty-four percent of the cohort reported daytime impairment due to sleep problems and 62% reported experiencing daytime fatigue at least one to two times per week.
Spouses of currently or previously deployed military members reported poorer sleep quality and more fatigue than spouses of members who were never deployed.
Linear regression analyses indicated that poorer sleep quality, shorter sleep duration and greater daytime dysfunction were associated with worse self-reported health, more depressive symptoms and lower marital satisfaction.
“These results are important because we know very little about sleep problems among military spouses. Promoting sleep health may be an important strategy for enhancing military families' adjustment in the post-deployment period,” Troxel said in a press release. “This is particularly relevant given that the past 14 years of protracted overseas combat have exacted an unprecedented toll on U.S. service members and their families.” – by Amanda Oldt
Reference:
Troxel W, et al. Examining the prevalence and correlates of sleep problems among military spouses. Presented at: SLEEP Annual Meeting 2016; June 11-15; Denver.
Disclosure: The study was supported by RAND National Defense Research Institute; Office of the Surgeon General, US Army, and the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).