STUDENT VOICES
By Catalina Mercado

TThe COVID-19 pandemic changed many things for a multitude of people. As we all know, the pandemic took and altered many lives, but it seemed to disproportionately affect minority groups. This also brought to light other health disparities or unfair differences in health outcomes, like higher infant mortality for black infants and higher rates of chronic illnesses like diabetes in minority populations. It was one of the first times that health disparities were widely recognized, largely because they became so visible during the pandemic.  

But what do health disparities and sleep disparities have in common?

In a study titled “Sleep disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic: An investigation of AIAN, Asian, Black, Latinx, and White young adults,” completed by Dr. Tiffany Yip, Ye Feng, Jillianne Fowle, and Dr. Celia B. Fisher from Fordham University published in Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, it was found that sleep disparities were prevalent within the relationship between racial groups during COVID-19. The researchers found that Black young adults reported the largest difference in sleep duration and quality compared to their minority counterparts, AIAN, Latinx, and Asian. On average, Black young adults reported one less hour of sleep compared to their counterparts.

But why did Black young adults experience such a difference in sleep-related disparities in comparison to all the other racial groups? The researchers tested two pathways that could explain these differences: being an essential worker and COVID-19 victimization distress. Black young adults were more likely to be essential workers or people who had to work a human-contact job during the pandemic, and being an essential worker was associated with reduced sleep duration. Additionally, COVID-19-related victimization distress, or the experience of being singled out by others because they are assumed to be carrying the virus, was related to worse sleep quality. Black young adults reported higher COVID-related victimization distress than the other groups in the study, showing its presence in the Black community.  

So, with the knowledge that essential worker status and COVID-related victimization distress both impact young Black adult populations more than other racial groups, the conducted study was able to decipher why Black young adults might be experiencing higher levels of sleep disturbances and lower quality of sleep. It also demonstrated how the exacerbation of existing sleep disparities was intensified during COVID-19, in a manner similar to the amplification of existing health disparities. This brings light to the importance of addressing these sleep issues and other disparities between minority groups to further combat those and all inconsistencies in the future of health outcomes.

Reference:

Yip, T., Feng, Y., Fowle, J., & Fisher, C. B. (2021). Sleep disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic: An investigation of AIAN, Asian, Black, Latinx, and White young adults. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 7(4), 436–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2021.05.012