Our results show that, after adjusting for all covariates, the Hispanic/Latino, Black/African-American, and Asian/Other groups were less likely to report insufficient sleep than the White group, but multiracial individuals were more likely to report insufficient sleep. Results from the 2006 BRFSS similarly showed that Hispanic/Latino and Black/African-American individuals reported fewer complaints and multiracial individuals reported more complaints (6) and Hispanics had fewer days of insufficient sleep than African-Americans or Whites (33). Whites may be more willing to report symptoms, which have been shown in other large epidemiologic studies (34). Also, although we adjusted for many covariates, there could be other effects or interactions that are not modeled.
Divorced individuals reported increased insufficient sleep, relative to married individuals and those that were never married reported less insufficient sleep. These results are in agreement with previous studies reporting that divorced, separated, and widowed individuals are more likely to be short-sleepers compared to married individuals (30, 32, 35–37). Studies assessing the effect of poor sleep on marital satisfaction found that sleep problems reported by one or both spouses were associated with higher levels of marital unhappiness (38, 39). Thus, marriage may, overall, protect against insufficient sleep, but the reciprocal pathway is also plausible, i.e., sleep disruption/insufficiency may decrease marital harmony.