Concept Map

Running Head: SLEEP HEALTH 1

SLEEP HEALTH 4

Sleep Health

Raven Jinks

Chamberlain University

NR 503: Population Health, Epidemiology, & Statistical Principles

November 10, 2019

Sleep Health

Problem Statement

The correlation between sleep and public health issues informs current epidemiological research on sleep health. Current data on poor sleep health indicates its national significance. Accordingly, 25 percent of American adults report inadequate sleep or rest “at least 15 out of every 30 days” (HealthyPeople.gov, 2019). Furthermore, nearly 70 million adults are subject to aspects of poor sleep health, which involve wakefulness and chronic sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea (Chattu et al., 2019). Sleep is imperative in the regulation and maintenance of body and brain functions, including metabolic and hormonal systems, the immune system, and emotion as well as cognition. Inadequate sleep associates with chronic illnesses, including cancer, depression, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity (Medic, Wille, & Hernels, 2019). Inadequate sleep also relates to diminished life quality and productivity, heightened possibilities of transportation accidents, medical errors, and industrial incidents.

Overview of Poor Sleep Health in Florida

Understanding the issue in question in the state of Florida necessitates defining “inadequate sleep.” In respect to the research, inadequate sleep has a shorter duration than the standard basal rate of seven to eight hours every night. Therefore, people suffering from insufficient sleep spend less than seven hours in bed. With this definition, the state of Florida does not exhibit significant poor sleep health. According to America’s Health Rankings (2018), Florida’s rank on the national insufficient sleep scale is 28. Accordingly, the percentage of grown-ups who slept less than the basal rate in a single day in 2018 was 34.5 (America’s Health Rankings, 2018). However, poor sleep health affects Florida’s elderly population, particularly those who are 65 years and above. For instance, the percentage of people ages 65 and older who acknowledged that they were insufficiently sleeping on average was 26.4 percent (America’s Health Rankings, 2018). For this population, the issue is a significant concern because they are susceptible to depression, hypertension, diabetes, general dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease.

Review of Epidemiologic and Demographic Data on Mortality and Risk

Inadequate sleep exposes respondents to disturbances that associate with high mortality risks. Since the lack of sufficient sleep imposes considerable effects on immunology, endocrinology, metabolism, and illness risk, the mortality and morbidity risks associated with the issue are considerable. The risk factors for mortality, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and the body mass index, increase in populations subject to insufficient sleep or sleep disruptions. Regarding the state of Florida, persons ages 65 and older with sleep issues are subject to generally higher mortality risks. Interestingly, studies indicate that men are more prone to similar mortality risks compared to women. Nonetheless, the association between insufficient sleep and cardiovascular mortality vulnerabilities is absent or insufficient (Chattu et al., 2019). Despite this, women and men subject to sleep disruptions are more likely to have diabetes and hypertension (Medic et al., 2019). Interestingly, the focus on mortality and sleep disturbances necessitates increased focus on the quality of sleep. Accordingly, low-quality sleep may have a probable relationship with conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, and depression to low-quality sleep.

Healthy People 2020 and Sleep Health

The overview of HP2020 is to address the issue of poor sleep health, which affects more than 20 percent of adults in the United States. HP2020 goal on sleep health involves enhancing public information regarding the relationship between sleep and wellbeing. Accordingly, the goal is to heighten people’s knowledge on the improvement of wellness, performance, life quality, and workplace and transportation safety via sufficient sleep and efficient treatment of associated disorders. Additionally, HP2020 objectives involve addressing common sleep disorders, vehicular accidents that arise from inadequate sleep, and increasing the percentage of sufficient sleep. In this respect, the first objective involves boosting the number of people with signs that indicate obtrusive sleep apnea who look for medical assessments. The second objective focuses on lowering the level of accidents that occur due to sleepy driving for every 100 million miles (HealthyPeople.gov, 2019). The third objective concentrates on amplifying the percentage of grade 9-12 learners who receive adequate sleep. The last objective identifies the significance of increasing the number of adults who receive sufficient sleep.

Population Level Prevention and Health Promotion

The population in question constitutes persons aged 65 years and over. Accordingly, to prevent the further occurrence of disturbances that affect sufficient sleep, it will be imperative to engage in the diagnosis of common disruptive conditions, particularly sleep apnea and insomnia. The strategy will consider signs such as fatigue, daytime sleepiness, reduced libido, and migraines or headaches irrespective of related conditions, such as advanced age, snoring, and obesity. Secondary approaches will focus on new cases that have been identified regarding sleep apnea and insomnia. Even though obesity may not contribute to these illnesses, BMI functions as a vital benchmark for common sleep disturbances. Furthermore, problems that arise from the use of medication for hypertension and cardiovascular measures, such as depression, may be diagnosed due to their correlation to insomnia. This diagnosis may inform the treatment of insomnia as well as sleep apnea since both tend to relate to the conditions in question. Lastly, tertiary measures may specifically involve geriatrics. Since the disturbances may impersonate pre-existing illnesses, geriatrics will focus on enhancing the life quality of this population.

References

America’s Health Rankings. (2018). Insufficient sleep. United Health Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/sleep/state/FL

Chattu, V. J., Manzar, D., Kumary, S., Burman, D., Spence, D. W., & Pandi-Perumal, S. R. (2019). The global problem of insufficient sleep and its serious public health implications. Healthcare, 7(1), 1. doi:10.3390/healthcare7010001

HealthyPeople.gov. (2019). Sleep health. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/sleep-health

Medic, G., Wille, M., & Hernels, M. E. H. (2017). Short and long-term health consequences of sleep disruption. Nature and Science of Sleep, 9, 151-161. doi:10.2147/NSS.S134864