Chattanooga sleep specialist Dr. Anuj Chandra is sharing the results of a national poll on sleep differences among ethnic groups and calling for more public health education and physician education about how sleep disorders affect minorities.

The 2010 Sleep in America poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation reveals significant differences in the sleep habits and attitudes of Asians, Blacks/African-Americans, Hispanics and Whites. According to the NSF, it is the first poll to examine sleep among these four ethnic groups.

NSF released the poll findings as part of its 13th annual National Sleep Awareness Week campaign, held March 7-13. NSF releases poll results just before the change to Daylight Saving Time on March 14 to remind Americans that losing sleep is an important health consideration.

Poll highlights include:
* More than three-fourths of respondents from each ethnic group agree that poor sleep is associated with health problems (76-83%). These new findings echo lessons learned by former President Bill Clinton who recently admitted that he has adopted a new lifestyle regimen to sleep seven or more hours on the advice of his doctors.
* All groups report disturbingly similar experiences missing work or family functions because they were too sleepy (19-24%).
* Among married people or couples living together, all ethnic groups report being too tired for sex frequently (21- 26% of the time).

According to Dr. Anuj Chandra, the NSF poll on attitudes and understanding joins a growing body of medical research about how sleep disorders affect ethnic minorities.

“We know a lot of ethnic minorities are affected worse with sleep disorders than the overall population,” said Dr. Chandra. “For example, We know that African-Americans have a much higher rate of sleep apnea. Reggie Qhite’s death in 2004 from sleep apnea brought that home.

"Research has found blacks actually get less sleep than Whites and that they have more excessive sleepiness. Now this study shows that African-Americans say that they need less sleep. That shows the need for more education. People may need more sleep than they think they do. Their attitudes toward sleep and the amount of time they sleep might be connected with their higher rates of sleep apnea, hypertension and diabetes.”

“Up to now, most of the research studies have been done on Caucasians, so more research is needed on how ethnic minorities are affected,” added Dr. Chandra. “But this poll brings home the point that certain populations are more vulnerable. People in all these groups need to know that you don’t necessarily have to be heavy or obese to have sleep apnea.

"We need to direct more public health resources to these populations for education and treatment. We also need more physician education, because sleep disorders are also under-diagnosed for minorities.”

Here is more detail on the poll results:

Blacks/African-Americans report the busiest bedtime routines.

Blacks/African-Americans are the most likely to report performing activities in the hour before going to bed every night or almost every night, specifically watching TV (75%) and/or praying or doing another religious practice (71%). Whether on weekdays/workdays or non-workdays/weekends, Blacks/African-Americans spend much more time in bed without sleeping than the other ethnic groups (54 minutes on weekdays/workdays and 71 minutes on non-workdays/weekends).

Blacks/African-Americans and Hispanics (10% each) are ten times more likely to report having sex every night than Asians (1%) and 2.5 times more likely than Whites (4%).

Most Blacks/African-Americans report praying every night (71%); more than four times the reported frequency of Asians (18%), twice the rate of Whites (32%) and 1.5 times the rate of Hispanics (45%).

Blacks/African-Americans (17%) and Asians (16%) are more likely than Whites (9%) and Hispanics (13%) to report doing job-related work in the hour before bed, among those employed.

Blacks/African-Americans report losing sleep every night over personal financial concerns (12%) and employment concerns (10%) at a higher rate than Whites (6% and 7%) or Asians (1% and 4%). Hispanics are almost equally concerned each night about these two issues (11% and 9%, respectively).

Asians report getting the best sleep, report the least amount of sleep problems and infrequent use of sleep aids.

Asians are the most likely ethnic group (84%) to say that they had a good night's sleep at least a few nights or more a week. In addition, Asians are about half as likely (14%) to discuss their sleep issues with a healthcare professional, and are half as likely (10%) to report having been diagnosed with a sleep disorder. Asians are the least likely to report using sleep medication at least a few nights a week (5% versus 13% Whites, 9% Blacks/African-Americans and 8% Hispanics).

Asians are the least likely (9%) to say that they "rarely" or "never" have a good night's sleep, compared with 20% of Whites, 18% of Blacks/African-Americans and 14% of Hispanics.

The poll shows that Asians are more than twice as likely to use the Internet every night in comparison to any other group (51% versus 22% Whites, 20% Blacks/African-Americans, 20% Hispanics). They are also the least likely to watch TV an hour before sleep (52% versus 64% Whites, 72% Hispanics and 75% Blacks/African-Americans).

Asians report the use of herbal and alternative therapies at rates similar to Hispanics (2% each), but less than Whites (4%).

Asians report the lowest rates of losing sleep due to personal financial concerns at least a few nights a week (9% versus 22% Hispanics, 20% Whites and 19% Blacks/African-Americans).

While Blacks/African-Americans report the least amount of sleep, they also say they need less sleep.

Blacks/African-Americans report getting the least amount of sleep on workdays/ weekdays (six hours and 14 minutes). Interestingly, they also say that they need only seven hours and five minutes of sleep each night to perform at their best during the day, which is significantly less sleep than Asians and Hispanics (seven hours and 29 minutes each).

Blacks/African-Americans report getting an average of 34 minutes less sleep on a work night/weeknight than Asians and 38 minutes less than Whites.

Hispanics are the most likely to say they are kept awake by financial, employment, personal relationship and/or health-related concerns.

Overall, at least one-third of Hispanics (38%) and Blacks/African-Americans (33%) report that any of these concerns disturb their sleep at least a few nights a week, compared to about one-fourth of Whites (28%) and/or Asians (25%).

Moreover, about two in ten Hispanics (19%) and Blacks/African-Americans (19%) say their sleep is disturbed every night or almost every night by at least one of these concerns.

Hispanics (16%) are more likely than Blacks/African-Americans (12%), Asians (9%) and Whites (7%) to say that health-related concerns have disturbed their sleep at least a few nights a week.

Sleep disorder diagnosis is uneven among the four ethnic groups.

The 2010 poll found that sleep disorders continue to be very common among the adults surveyed, with specific disorders occurring at different frequency among the four groups.

Whites report the highest rate of diagnosis for insomnia (10%), and Blacks/African-Americans have the highest rate of diagnosed sleep apnea (14%) among the four groups.

Among those experiencing sleep problems, Whites are the most likely to report using over-the-counter sleep aids at least a few nights a week (7%). Blacks/African-Americans are almost twice as likely to report taking medications prescribed by a doctor (7%) rather than over-the-counter sleep aids (3%). Asians are the least likely to report using any form of sleep medication (5%).

Ethnic groups seek help for sleep problems differently.

When experiencing a specific sleep problem, Blacks/African-Americans say they are more likely to speak with their doctor (16%) or research online (10%) than to get recommendations from friends or family (4%).

Asians (15%) are the most likely to say they get advice from family and friends.

Respondents were also asked if their healthcare professional or doctor had ever asked them about their sleep during a routine visit. At least four in ten Whites (48%), Blacks/African-Americans (42%) and Hispanics (40%) say yes; however, only 28% of Asians had been asked about sleep by their doctor.

The National Sleep Foundation suggests the following to improve your sleep:
* Go to sleep and wake at the same time every day, and avoid spending more time in bed than needed.

* Use bright light to help manage your "body clock." Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning.

* Use your bedroom only for sleep to strengthen the association between your bed and sleep. It may help to remove work materials, computers and televisions from your bedroom.

* Select a relaxing bedtime ritual, like a warm bath or listening to calming music.

* Create an environment that is conducive to sleep that is quiet, dark and cool with a comfortable mattress and pillows.

* Reduce or eliminate your intake of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.

* Save your worries for the daytime. If concerns come to mind, write them in a "worry book" so you can address those issues the next day.

* If you can't sleep, go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel tired.

* Exercise regularly, but avoid vigorous workouts close to bedtime.

Dr. Anuj Chandra is a double-board certified sleep specialist who treats patients in the Chattanooga area and trains physicians internationally. The Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders, located at 6073 East Brainerd Road, offers state-of-the-art sleep diagnostic testing in a home-like setting built in a converted house, and treatment for sleep disorders like sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness, restless leg syndrome, and others.

The National Sleep Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by achieving greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. The NSF website provides comprehensive information on sleep health, including the complete summary of findings and highlights from this year's Sleep in America poll and polls from prior years.