Insufficient sleep is a growing epidemic in the United States, with the CDC linking it to motor vehicle crashes, industrial catastrophes and medical errors, among other occupational liabilities.

But when a baby cries, parents have another thing to worry about -- their marriage.

In a survey of 2,000 parents, 30 percent of the couples reportedly ended their marriages because of a crying child.

The study was conducted for United Kingdom's Bedtime Live program on Channel 4. While the program has not aired this episode, it's expected to begin the series Tuesday at 8 p.m. with host Tanya Byron, a psychologist at Edge Hill University.

The poll showed that parents only got an average of six hours of sleep every night, and according to the Sleep Foundation, adults need at least seven to nine hours of daily sleep.

The study also showed 11 percent of spouses pretended to sleep in when a child cried so their partner would take care of it. Similarly, 11 percent reported they shut the door to remove the noise and 9 percent tuned in to television.

"I see people whose children have chronic sleep problems and they'll say things like their children get really upset if they try to send them to bed," Byron told The Daily Mail.

"Well, I promise you, they won't hate you in the morning when they've had a proper rest. Our generation struggles with discipline much more than any other, but the lack of boundaries will only cause more and more difficulties," she added.

The difficulties could be overcome with more sleep. The U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute reported women who are having trouble sleeping are likely to have negative confrontations with husbands the next morning that create bumpy marriages down the line.

Many experts agree that letting babies cry themselves to sleep is the best solution,unless the baby is less than 6-months-old and they either are ill or need to be fed. Another study from Australia found that giving the baby a winding down routine, such as setting a chair and moving it further away every-so often until they fall asleep, can help lower their stress.

"Behavioral difficulties, family issues, learning and concentration issues: There is a significant number of these common problems which have poor sleep at the heart of it," Byron said.