For years, I have had trouble sleeping. I fall asleep easily enough but usually awaken between 2 am and 4 am in the morning. I will then read the newspaper on my iPad or do some work. After an hour or so, I fall back to sleep. I have to admit that it's hard getting up when 6 am comes around.
Information released from the recent meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies reported that black participants of a study had fewer hours of sleep, just 6.8 hours compared to 7.4 hours for whites and 6.9 hours for Asians. Additionally, blacks experienced more difficulty falling asleep as well as more interrupted sleep than whites or Asians. At first, I viewed these results as good because being awake longer probably means that we can get more done in a twenty-four hour period. Enhance productivity at school or at work force may help us achieve success in situations where there is not always a level playing field. It harkens back to the old adage that to be equally as successful as others, we have to be better, smarter and more nimble than our counterparts of other races or ethnicities. With less sleep, I may be able to think more, read more, write more or simply do more.
Experts in medicine quickly pointed out the flaws in my thinking. Not sleeping restfully or long enough, they speculate, might mean that a person is not as productive during the day and also not as healthy. In fact, the question was raised if the difference in sleep may be related to or responsible for increased rates of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes that occur in many blacks.
How could race possibly influence sleep? I have always viewed sleep as a condition of life. As humans we all eat, drink, talk, love, work and sleep. The researchers postulated that race impacted sleep because the neighborhoods in which the black study subjects lived were noisier which could disturb sleep. The researchers also pointed out that the threat of crime in some black neighborhoods, could increase stress which could impact sleep. Additionally, blacks may hold several jobs or have a work schedule that is not 9 to 5.
As I could have predicted, black men slept fewer hours than members of the other groups. This fact lead various researchers to consider social stresses that African-American men, in particular, might feel as a possible cause of the differences in sleep. This is an important realization for the researchers. Despite the fact that blacks have achieved many measures of social, economic and educational success, as evidenced by our first black President, there remains vast inequities in the United States. Much to my chagrin, sleep is but another.
Susan C. Taylor, MD
Follow Dr. Susan Taylor on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Societygirl932
Well I have heard it all now. !
Sorry but this sounds a little " Racist " to me, and you know what, the " Race Card " playing days are over babie, so find something new to Whine about. ! ... ( or find some Wine, and think about it. ! . )
If a person is raised, and told ALL of his life by people like you that he, or she is going to be going no where because of there race, then that is what most likely will happen. So STOP being a " Racist," forget the card, and try telling ALL kids that they can be anything they want to be.. Even President of The United States. ! !
Two things helped me and they are magnsium and an anti-depressant called Amitriptyline HLC (Eleavil) . I take both at least two hours before bed and it works.
Make sure that you check with your doctor before trying what I recommend.
I take a magnesium tablet 1/2 hour before bedtime, and fall asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow. Bladder wakes me from 4 to 8 times per night, but I always fall back to sleep very quickly!
Of course, it also helps to have a very dark room, warm bed (lightweight comforter) but cool breathing air. White noise (like a fan or window air conditioner) and a way to destress your thoughts, such as prayer or soft music.
One thing that I think helps me is to hold back relieving my bladder as long as I can each day. It strengthens the muscles that hold back the emptying of the bladder.
BAAAWAAAAAHAAAAA! That's a good one!
2. Some time ago I read an interesting article about sleep.... in history. Through historical writings and literature they had discovered that in Europe... prior to the 1800s.... and in Colonial America ... and amongst some Native American tribes, it was common for sleep in the night to be split into 2 sections. In fact, Shakespeare writes of 1st and 2nd sleep. It was common for people to go to be, sleep for awhile... then get up between midnight and 3am.... eat, talk, get a breath of air, have sex, then around 4am, go back to sleep and sleep until dawn.
I know that I go through periods of following this pattern... particularly when the nights get longer. I find myself ready to go to bed between 9 and 10. I'll then wake up around 1am.... won't be able to go back to sleep, so I eat something.... then maybe in an hour or so, I'm ready to sleep again.
Maybe this idea of 7 or 8 unbroken hours of sleep is not correct.
Obstructed breathing (whether or not it's long enough to be an apnea) leads to interrupted sleep. This process is worse in the latter half of the night, when you enter longer periods of REM sleep. This is why many people wake up at regular times or intervals.
Modern diets and infant feeding habits have significantly shrunken our facial structures, predisposing to one's risk of sleep-breathing problems. This problem is essentially ignored by conventional allopathic medicine, which prefers to focus on genetic or biochemical answers to chronic disease.
If you are tired no matter how long you sleep, have had braces, have dental crowding, underwent excessive dental extractions, can't sleep on your back, have an narrow triangular face, or have parents that snore heavily, it's likely you have problems breathing at night. Poor sleep due to these multiple interruptions can lead to weight gain, since poor sleep is known to affect your hormones and appetite to make you hungry and crave sugary or fatty foods.
http://doctorstevenpark.com
The difference between 6.8 for blacks, and 6.9 hours for Asians (and Hispanics as the study also reported), is exactly SIX MINUTES.
"The researchers postulated that race impacted sleep because the neighborhoods in which the black study subjects lived were noisier which could disturb sleep."
So who is making all the noise?
"The researchers also pointed out that the threat of crime in some black neighborhoods, could increase stress which could impact sleep."
So who is committing all the crime?
"Additionally, blacks may hold several jobs or have a work schedule that is not 9 to 5."
So may everyone else in America. This is scarcely a black only experience.
"How could race possibly influence sleep? I have always viewed sleep as a condition of life."
The same way genetics can influence other things, like the ability to run fast, jump higher, a tendency to weigh more or less, musical or other talents, blood pressure, cholesterol, predisposition to some cancers, etc, etc, etc. It is a rare family where one member does not require more or less sleep than another. A slight overall difference between races in average sleeping time is irrelevant.