Sleepless over savings: Americans toss and turn at night over the recession, AARP finds

Americans’ financial struggles are leading them to lose sleep over how they will make ends meet and save enough for the future, according to a survey from AARP.
According to the survey, 27% of the respondents are having trouble paying for items such as food and utilities.
The study also found that adults are tossing and turning at night over their financial situation: 47% of respondents reported getting less sleep during the past 12 months due to stress or worry related to the economy.
“The 45-to-64 population is particularly squeezed. They are often trying to take care of the basic needs of their aging parents and their children, and they don’t have the ability in this economy to focus on their own financial and retirement security,” Nancy LeaMond, executive vice president of AARP, said in a statement.
For some, income has declined. Thirty percent of respondents said that they either “had hours cut, had to take a pay cut or lost other forms of work-related income,” according to AARP.
To meet expenses, many respondents said, they have cut back on their contributions to retirement accounts. Last month, 30% of those surveyed said that they had stopped contributing to their 401(k) or individual retirement account in the past year.
The telephone survey of 939 participants 45 to 64 took place July 22-Aug. 3.