Sleep Pattern Differences Strongly Associated with Demographic Factors

July 25, 2006 -- A new sleep study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that there are significant differences in the sleep patterns of men and women, whites and blacks, and those of different income groups. The study further reveals that participants believed they were sleeping more hours than they actually were.

According to measuring devices worn by the study participants, women slept more efficiently than men averaging 6.7 hours of sleep per night for women compared with 6.1 hours for men. For black men and women, the averages are nearly an hour less than their white counterparts, 5.9 hours and 5.1 hours respectively. The lead researcher of the study said that people with higher incomes and more demanding jobs may spend fewer hours in bed but they make more efficient use of that time sleeping.

The Institute of Medicine has produced a number of reports that examine how sleep and sleep disorders affect performance for adults and adolescents. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem explores how to increase the capacity of health care providers to diagnose and treat individuals with sleep disorders. Sleep Needs, Patterns and Difficulties of Adolescents: Summary of a Workshop discusses efforts to help meet the sleep needs of adolescents and educate parents and youths on the importance of adequate sleep.

• Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem (2006)
• Sleep Needs, Patterns and Difficulties of Adolescents: Summary of a Workshop (2000)

• National Institute of Health's Teacher's Guide to Sleep