Structural conditions related to neighborhood and living environment may also contribute to the increased likelihood of high-risk sleep duration among racial minorities and city residents, noted Dr. Hale.
Environmental factors of the inner city may prevent a solid nights rest. Noise or light pollution may keep city residents awake later or wake them up earlier than those in less urban areas. These factors might lead to either shortening sleep or increasing fragmentation of sleep leading to prolonged reported sleep durations, said Dr. Hale.
Lastly, Dr. Hale added that there may also be physiological differences in the demand for or the ability to sleep by racial category that are also associated with neighborhood characteristics.
Dr. Hale warned that these cross-sectional relationships are not sufficient to identify a causal link between race and sleep duration, and should not be over-interpreted.
There may also be concerns about the use of self-reported data, said Dr. Hale. For example, people with sleep apnea may be reporting longer sleep times because they are in bed for longer, but they may not be sleeping more. That said, the results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that unhealthy sleep patterns among African-Americans and city residents may contribute to health differentials.
Dr. Hale noted that this information can assist public health and health care professionals in identifying segments of the population that are at a higher risk for sleep or sleep-related disorders. An understanding of the correlations between race, neighborhood context and sleep duration may also provide help in explaining outcomes where there are other racial disparities, such as test score gaps, educational attainment, employment and crime, said Dr. Hale. It may also lead to the incorporation of sleep and other biological variables in fut
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| Contact: Jim Arcuri jarcuri@aasmnet.org 708-492-0930 American Academy of Sleep Medicine Source:Eurekalert |