Getting a good night's sleep more difficult for Black Americans, study finds

BOSTON – A recent study from Yale University found that Black Americans are more likely to sleep less than seven hours a day compared to whites and other non-white groups.  

Black women suffered the most. 

These sleep disparities could be due to a number of social and environmental factors.  

For example, Blacks are more likely to live in communities near traffic, construction, factories, and airports where high levels of noise can disrupt sleep.  

People of color are more likely to work night shifts or irregular hours or experience financial insecurity. Add on top of that the additional stress, fear, and anger associated with racism and discrimination.  

And we know that inadequate sleep is linked to a number of health conditions including heart disease, dementia, depression, and anxiety.

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Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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