Blacks spend more time in bed without sleeping than any other ethnic group, according to a poll released Monday by the National Sleep Foundation.
The survey also found that blacks and Hispanics are 10 times more likely to report having sex every night than Asians or whites.
The NSF conducts polls each year on various topics that relate to sleep behaviors, said Tom Balkin, chairman of the Washington, D.C.–based organization. This year’s report reveals significant differences in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, blacks, Hispanics and whites.
It is the first poll to examine sleep among these four ethnic groups, Balkin told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“As the leading voice of sleep health, we are committed to better understanding people’s sleep needs,” says David Cloud, CEO of the National Sleep Foundation. “By exploring ethnic and family sleep practices, we have gained new insight into why we sleep the way we do.”
Blacks spend 54 minutes on weekdays/workdays and 71 minutes on non-workdays/weekends in bed without sleeping. Among the other ethnic groups, Hispanics reported spending 42 minutes in bed without sleeping, 36 minutes for Asians and 25 minutes for whites.
On weekends, time in bed without sleeping ranged from 71 minutes for blacks to 57 minutes for Hispanics, 43 minutes for whites and 41 minutes for Asians, according to the survey.
When it comes to sex, 10 percent of blacks and Hispanics report having sex every night, compared with four percent of whites and one percent of Asians.
Balkin said the survey included questions about sex because of the impact it can have on sleep.
“Sex is relaxing, and it enhances sleep onset,” Balkin said. “Reading also helps people relax before going to sleep.”
The survey did find that among married people or couples living together, all ethnic groups report being too tired for sex frequently – 21 to 26 percent of the time.
Balkin said the average person needs to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. “Most don’t get the recommended amount of sleep,” he said, maintaining that most sleep just over seven hours.
A large percentage of blacks in the survey said they don’t need as much sleep as people in other ethnic groups.
Blacks reported getting the least amount of sleep on workdays/weekdays – six hours and 14 minutes. They also say that they need only seven hours and five minutes of sleep each night to perform at their best during the day, which is significantly less sleep than Asians and Hispanics – seven hours and 29 minutes each.
One theory is that people sometimes condition themselves to survive on less sleep, so it becomes a habit, Balkin said.
“The brain can forget how it feels to be optimally alert,” he said, adding that this can be especially true for people with sleep apnea or those conditioned by their work shifts.
“The finding that blacks/African-Americans say they need less sleep and get less sleep is instructive for public health professionals,” says Jose S. Loredo, MD, MPH, professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego. “Their total sleep time and attitudes regarding sleep may be associated with blacks/African-Americans’ higher rates of sleep apnea, hypertension and diabetes and provide sleep-related insight into how to improve awareness and education programs and, very importantly, how to improve therapy compliance rates.”
The survey also reported: Story from Blackamericaweb.com
– Most blacks, 71 percent, report praying every night. That’s more than four times the reported frequency of Asians at 18 percent, twice the rate of whites at 32 …..
