Sleep in America: role of racial/ethnic differences
Open accessAbstract
Sleep duration in America has gradually declined over the last four decades and appears to have reached a plateau for the last six years, with recent studies reporting that the population's current average sleep duration is approximately 6 h. In this paper, we examine epidemiologic and community-based data on sleep complaints reported by American adults, specifically addressing the role of race/ethnicity in the subjective report of sleep problems. Subjective and objective findings indicate that black (throughout the text, we use the term black in lieu of African American for there are instances where we refer to individuals with self-ascribed race/ethnicity as black, African American, African, or Caribbean American; the term white is used to denote individuals of European descent). Americans have higher rates of long (≥9 h) and short (≤5 h) sleep than their white counterparts, and this may mediate a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes among blacks. In addition, studies show mixed results on sleep complaints among blacks compared to those among other ethnicities. This paper explores factors that may contribute to racial/ethnic differences in sleep including intra-ethnic variation, cultural biases, genetics and psychosocial factors.
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Many other studies have shown increased prevalence of habitual short sleep duration among racial/ethnic minority groups.
“These findings are mirrored in many other studies, which have shown increased prevalence of habitual short sleep duration among racial/ethnic minority groups(221-225).”
From Sleep: important considerations for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (2016) · cites this paper as [222]
Many studies have found associations between sleep duration and adiposity and obesity.
“Many studies have found associations between sleep duration and adiposity and obesity.39–41”
From Sleep, Health, and Society (2017) · cites this paper as [39]
Many studies have documented a 'sleep disparity' in the population, such that racial/ethnic minorities, especially in the context of socioeconomic disadvantage, achieve less quality sleep.
“Many studies have documented a “sleep disparity” in the population,19,39 such that racial/ethnic minorities, especially in the context of socioeconomic disadvantage, achieve less quality sleep.”
From Sleep, Health, and Society (2017) · cites this paper as [39]
Most studies in this area have shown that, overall, blacks/African Americans are more likely to experience short sleep duration compared with non-Hispanic whites.
“Most studies in this area have shown that, overall, blacks/African Americans are more likely to experience short sleep duration compared with non-Hispanic whites.19,39”
From Sleep, Health, and Society (2017) · cites this paper as [39]
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References 94 · Cited by 197
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [88]Jean-Louis G Magai C Cohen CI Zizi F von Gizycki H DiPalma J Ethnic differences in reported sleep problems in older adults Sleep 2001 24 926 33 11766163
- Authors
- Adenekan, B., Pandey, A., McKenzie, S., Zizi, F., Casimir, G. J., & Jean-Louis, G.
- Affiliations
- State University of New York (US)
- Venue
- Sleep Medicine Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-08
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 255-262
- ISSN
- 1087-0792 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3644542
- OpenAlex
- W2138650696
- Cited by
- 197
- References
- 94
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 2.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Sleep Medicine Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Long Island University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R25HL105444, R01HL095799)
- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (P20MD006875, R01MD004113)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research
- Keywords
- sleep duration, racial and ethnic differences, African Americans, sleep complaints, short sleep duration, long sleep, cardiovascular risk, obesity, diabetes mellitus, cultural bias, psychosocial factors, sleep epidemiology
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Ethnicity, Humans, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Sleep, Sleep Wake Disorders, Time Factors, United States, Racial Groups
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