Data Trends 2022: Sleep Disorders

Female veterans have sleep issues at a higher rate than female civilians and are affected by many stress-related conditions that make sleep worse. As well, women carry 60% of society’s burden of caregiving, often looking after children along with sick family members or spouses. A survey of nearly 1,500 female veterans compared sleep troubles and related effects between those who are caregivers (those who provide unpaid care for another person) and those who are not.¹ Another survey found that many female veterans are also at high risk for sleep apnea—a known risk factor for heart disease—but that most were undiagnosed.²

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