You are getting Very Sleepy-or not. @CWRU @fpbnursing sleep scientist gives tips for better health for #WorldSleepDay @WorldSleepDay

World Sleep Day is today,  March 17, 2023 and the World Sleep Society issued a global call to action to organize sleep health awareness around the world. 

Stephanie Griggs, PhD, an assistant professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University and sleep expert, shares her perspective on sleep health. 

(Note to reporters: Comments may be attributed to Griggs, but were derived in consultation with Shemaine Martin and Jorden Rieke, two PhD students working with Griggs.) 

What is sleep health? Sleep health includes satisfaction, sustained alertness during the day, appropriate timing, high efficiency, and adequate duration.

Why is it important to promote sleep health? There is an emerging knowledge and scientific discovery of the benefits of sleep health. Many of these benefits are not well understood. Sleep and circadian health are essential for many facets of mental, physical, emotional, and social health for people of all ages across all cultures. 

How does sleep affect the population? Poor sleep health is a public health burden relative to geography. Insufficient sleep is unevenly distributed across geographic locations. Disparities in social determinants of sleep persist globally and those employed, with higher education, higher income, and better social support report higher sleep quality and healthy sleep duration (7-9 hours/night). Poor sleep health increases disease and accident risk, limits longevity, and increases medical costs.

About the experts:

 Stephanie Griggs’ research is focused on examining the distinct role sleep and circadian behavior play in regulating glucose (sugar) among individuals with type 1 diabetes who have an absent autoregulation (e.g., insulin-glucose homeostasis).

The two processes that regulate sleep (homeostatic sleep drive and circadian “about a day”) have a unique role in maintaining glucose within a healthy range. Deficiencies in either of the two distinct states (non-rapid eye movement [NREM] and rapid eye movement [REM]) lead to impaired insulin sensitivity. As a result, more insulin is needed to help the uptake of glucose in fat and muscle cells and the liver to continue to store it.

Shemaine Martin and Jorden Rieke are PhD students at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University working with Griggs.

• Martin is building a program of research on the impact of implicit racial/ethnic bias on the healthcare journey of African American women.
• Rieke is building a program of research on type one diabetes self-management and has a particular interest in diabetes technology.