Single Moms Suffer Most From This Health Problem; Check out the Solution Here!
What type of health problem do single mothers experience worse than other people in the United States? According to a new study, it's actually sleep deprivation.
A research backed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that 43.5 percent of single mothers do not get the recommended hours of sleep every night and its implications are concerning because the lack of sleep can result in the deterioration of a person's health and well-being.
Comparing the numbers with a two-parent family, some 31.2 percent of mothers with partners said they have a hard time getting at least seven hours of sleep nightly, while the problem existed among 29.7 percent of women with partners but without children. Meanwhile, 37.5 percent of single dads said they don't get enough sleep, which is only slightly higher than sleep-deprived fathers who have partners at 34 percent.
Many of the single parents said that they either have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, but at least 52 percent said that they don't seem to be getting enough rest even after sleeping.
"Other research has shown that single parenthood is linked to stress and psychological distress," said sociologist Kristi Williams via The Huffington Post. "However, we know very little about the processes that underlie these patterns. This new [sleep] report is important because it suggests that sleep detriments may play an important role."
Dr. Jen Ashton suggested some possible solutions to this problem in a segment on "Good Morning America." She underlined that single moms should learn to prioritize sleep more, as well as forgo the guilt of not being able to finish all of the house work for the day. "No one is going to die if the dishwasher is not loaded or unloaded before we go to sleep, so whatever doesn't get done by the time we need to shut it down, it doesn't get done," she said in the interview.
Doing meditations could also aid in improving sleep conditions and Ashton advised against self-medication to get to sleep. "These things can work in the short term but in the long term really not good," the doctor emphasized. Per New Jersey Online, it is actually the women who are prone to include sleeping pills in their routine.
Health officials are making sleep a national priority in the hopes of improving and treating disorders that can affect "health, productivity, wellness, quality of life, and safety on roads and in the workplace," per the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.