An adult human being needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Reduced sleep, whether due to insomnia or other issues, can cause various physical health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, increasing the chances of developing heart disease.

A survey in the United States, data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention identified that 1 in 3 Latinos sleep less than 7 hours a night, very different from the American average.

According to an article by the American Heart Association, a team of psychology researchers decided to conduct a study on the sleep habits of Latinos living in Nogales County, Arizona, near the US-Mexico border. According to psychology professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson, John Ruiz, the research aims to understand “how border contexts and social contexts affect sleep in the region”.

There are several assumptions about what can disturb this group's sleep. Among them, one can consider the increase in noise in regions with less infrastructure, in addition to insecurity regarding the protection of the border.

Another consideration is socioeconomic status, about 20% of Nogales County residents live in poverty, with 80% of the total population being Latino. Many of these people need to work at more than one job, compromising these people's rest hours.

The study was conducted over two weeks. Participants took devices home that would monitor their sleep patterns. Other studies have noted that in other regions of the country, non-Hispanic white people sleep better and longer than other racial or ethnic groups living in the same region.

The center's senior director of community health services and principal investigator of the study, Patty Molina, said the aim of the study is to understand the link between socio-environmental factors and people's health, and how these issues "affect a lot of people, especially here, along the border,” according to Heart.

The study was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and recently returned. The results can be used for different applications in future research aimed at the growing Latino population.

Finally, John Ruiz states, “Understanding the health of Latinos will become an increasingly important national priority,” given their growth in the United States and the importance of ensuring the safety of this population.