The Relationship Between Disability And Sleep In A Nationally Represented Sample

Individuals with disabilities experience many challenges with aspects of daily living; these include basic health needs such as sleep duration. Previous studies examining sleep and disability have employed self-reported measures which have shown to have concerns with accuracy and validity. This is the first study investigating sleep and disability in a nationally represented sample using objective measurements. PURPOSE: To determine if disabilities are related to sleep time in a nationally representative sample. METHODS: Data from the 2013-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey includes a physical examination and an interview with individuals living in the US. This survey includes 5,000 participants from 15 different locations each cycle. Questionnaire data were used for demographics and to assess for presence of one or more vision, hearing, physical, medical, cognitive, or psychological disability. Individuals were classified based on the number of disabilities reported (0,1,2, and 3+). Sleep time was objectively determined by actigraphy. SAS was used to conduct weighted analysis and SURVEYREG was used to test for mean differences. RESULTS: A total of 2,343 females and 2,036 males were included in the analysis. There was no significant mean difference in sleep time for females (p > 0.05). A significant mean difference in sleep time among males was noted (p = 0.01). Males not reporting disability had significantly lower mean sleep time (403 ± 3 min) than those with 2 (427 ± 9 min, p = 0.02) or 3+ (450 ± 17 min, p = 0.02) reported disabilities. The significant mean difference remained between those with 0 and 3+ disabilities after controlling for BMI, age, and race/ethnicity (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Males with 2 or more disabilities experienced more sleep time than those with no disabilities. Against common previous knowledge in the scientific community, males without disabilities had lower sleep time than those with more disabilities. With the recent increase in population life expectancies, and therefore increased rates of disability inherent with aging, it is essential to recognize the relationship between increased number of disabilities and sleep duration. The scientific community should continue research exploring the relationship between disability, sleep duration, and overall health.