Insufficient sleep among parents of children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities: Findings from the 2011-2018 National Health Interview Survey.
Parents of kids with IDD get 20 % less sleep, especially when money or school level is low—so screen and refer.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lee et al. (2026) looked at eight years of national health survey data.
They compared sleep reports from parents of kids with IDD to other parents.
The team checked if money or school level changed the sleep gap.
What they found
Parents of kids with IDD were 20 % more likely to get under six hours of sleep.
The gap shrank when families earned more or had college degrees.
Still, even well-off IDD parents slept less than similar peers.
How this fits with other research
Gaily et al. (1998) first showed that over half of adults with ID wake at night.
Jiwon flips the lens: now we see their parents are also short on sleep.
Johnson et al. (2021) found dim light hurts sleep in elderly ID clients; Jiwon shows a different group—parents—faces sleep loss tied to stress, not light.
van der Miesen et al. (2024) said we lack clear outcomes for long-term services; Jiwon gives one fresh outcome—parent sleep debt—that service plans can track.
Why it matters
You now have numbers to back what many families feel: they are exhausted.
Add one sleep question to intake forms and care-plan reviews.
Refer tired parents to brief CBT-I, respite, or community sleep workshops; better rested caregivers mean better carry-over of your behavior plans.
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Join Free →Ask every parent: “How many hours of sleep do you get?” If under six, hand them a local sleep-clinic or respite-care flyer.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Parents of children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) face greater health risks, yet insufficient sleep among this group has been understudied. Prior research has relied on small, condition-specific samples. This study examined the prevalence of insufficient sleep among parents of children with and without IDD in a nationally representative sample. METHODS: We analyzed 2011-2018 National Health Interview Survey data, including parents of children with IDD (n = 3378) and without IDD (n = 54,645). Multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of insufficient sleep (<6 h vs. ≥6 h), controlling for child and parent-level sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: 40.54 % of parents of children with IDD reported insufficient sleep compared to that of 34.50 % in parents of children without IDD (AOR = 1.20, 95 %CI:1.09-1.33). Parents of children with IDD reporting high income or a college degree were not significantly associated with insufficient sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Parents of children with IDD are more likely to experience insufficient sleep than parents of children without IDD, though this association may be weaker among higher-income and college-educated parents. Targeted efforts to improve sleep health among low-income and low-education families may help prevent adverse health outcomes in this population. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: This study offers the first nationally representative estimates of insufficient sleep among parents of children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). Findings show that these parents are significantly more likely to experience insufficient sleep compared to parents of children without IDD. Importantly, the association was prominent in adults with lower income and lower educational attainment. These results underscore the need for targeted sleep health interventions to support families of children with IDD, particularly those with fewer socioeconomic resources.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2026 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2026.105258