Beauty sleep is often easier said than done.
According to one 2020 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 44 percent of Black American respondents had sleeping issues, compared to just 31 percent of white respondents.
While many of us want to be on our hustle and grind, burning the midnight oil and going hard to the wire, it’s not always good or sustainable. Sure, sometimes we have to sacrifice our sleep to get things done, but at what price?
In both the short term and long term, quality sleep is a crucial part of lasting cognitive function, mood stability, healthy immune systems, and general physical and psychological health. Many people, unfortunately, especially in the Black community, are not getting the restful sleep they need.
In fact, not only are they dealing with sleep problems, but they’re also struggling with full-blown sleep disorders, which are persistent conditions that impact daily functioning and typically require medical intervention to fully address.
So let’s change that. Here are five sleep disorders disproportionately affecting Black folks, and what you can do to improve them.
RELATED: 7 Bedtime Behaviors to Help You Sleep Better
1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that triggers pauses in your breathing throughout sleep. Typically due to a blockage or collapse in your airway, OSA is higher among the Black population than any other group. In fact, the CDC finds that Black adults more often experience the most disruptive symptoms, things like noisy snoring and daytime sleepiness.
When left untreated, the condition can cause everything from high blood pressure to heart disease and stroke.
Worried about OSA and how to treat it? Weight loss and consulting a physical therapist about
