Discrimination may influence adolescents' sleep quality

DN Bureau

A study of daily diary descriptions of discrimination by minority adolescents was found to be associated with compromised sleep quality that night.

Representational Image
Representational Image


Washington D.C: A study of daily diary descriptions of discrimination by minority adolescents, experiencing discrimination during the day, was found to be associated with compromised sleep quality that night, as well as feelings of greater daytime dysfunction and sleepiness the following day.

Also Read: Sleeping pill use indicator of a future need for blood pressure medications

The study, published in the Journal of Child Development, observed notable racial differences in sleep between Asian, Black, and Latinx youth.

Wrist actigraphy readings revealed that Black adolescents slept 35 minutes less than Asian adolescents and 36 minutes less than Latinx youth. Black adolescents experienced the most minutes awake during the night after falling asleep, followed by Latinx and Asian youth. Latinx youth reported the highest levels of sleep disturbance while Asian youth reported the highest levels of daytime dysfunction.

"The current study contributes to research on discrimination, sleep, and adolescent development," the authors wrote.

Also Read: Weekend sleep-in may ruin your waistline

"It is the first study to our knowledge to test the daily associations between discrimination and actigraphy-recorded and self-reported sleep in a large and diverse adolescent sample," read the study. (ANI)










Related Stories