Changes in sleep difficulties among the U.S. population from 2013 to 2017: results from the National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

Objectives: This study sought to evaluate how sleep difficulties have changed over time and to evaluate if these changes relate to changes in sleep duration.

Design: National Health Interview Survey administered annually from 2013 to 2017 by the National Center for Health Statistics.

Setting: U.S. national adult population.

Participants: 164,696 U.S. adults sampled across the nation using multistage area probability design.

Measurements: Self-reports of difficulties falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, use of sleep medication, feelings of restorative sleep, and sleep duration collected each year.

Results: From 2013 to 2017, the prevalence of reporting any days with difficulty falling asleep (B = .01, p <.01), trouble staying asleep (B = .02, p < .001), increased, yet waking feeling rested also increased (B = .01, p = .004), while average sleep duration decreased (B = -.02, p < .001). Moreover, changes in these sleep difficulties were independent of sleep duration and primarily occurred in healthy sleepers.

Conclusions: Multiple aspects of sleep difficulties show an undesirable trajectory in the U.S. adult population. Moreover, these trends appear to be independent of sleep duration and are primarily occurring in healthy sleepers. Future research should simultaneously consider how multiple aspects of sleep are changing and further examine the sources of these changes.

Keywords: National Health Interview Survey; Population trends; Sleep difficulties; Sleep duration; Sleep health; Sleep quality.