According to a study released by the Harvard School for Public Health, black sleeping patterns are worse than those of their white counterparts.

The study cites perceived or objective job discrimination, limited control over work demands and an increase in overall black workers’ stress as causes to lose hours of restorative sleep compared to white coworkers. 

From Houston Forward Times:

The study titled, “Racial Disparities in Short Sleep by Occupation and Industry,” analyzed eight years of data from the National Health Interview Survey, which polled 137,000 adults from 2004-2011.  In its investigation, Harvard School of Public Health compared sleep patterns between black and whites in eight industry categories.

Some of the categories are: finance information/real estate, professional/administrative management, educational services, public administration and other services, health care/social assistance, manufacturing and construction, public administration/ arts/ and other services.

Read more at Houston Forward Times

The study is one of the few that compares the sleep patterns of blacks to those of whites. It found that more than one-third of blacks sleep less than seven hours per night. 37 percent of black respondents sleep less than seven hours a night, compared to 28 percent of whites.

Optimal sleep is seven hours per night. The number of hours is associated with the lowest levels of poor health, mortality or death. Lack of sleep has been linked to increased weight gain, obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and mortality.

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