Auburn University scientists have found that blacks get less sleep than whites and suffer relatively worse health outcomes because of it, reports Birmingham Times.
Auburn scientists Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell, David S. Curtis, and Mona El-Sheikh were among five scientists who conducted the study. The Auburn research team analyzed data from 2009 findings of the “Midlife in the United States (MIDUS)” study, in which the sleep of 426 adults were monitored via what Curtis describes as a “Fitbit-like” wearable device.
Of the research participants, 31 percent were African-American adults living in Milwaukee, Wisc., compared with 69 percent white adults from the same region. According to the study, blacks get much less sleep than whites. For women, in particular, that can lead to wide disparities in health conditions down racial lines.
