TAKE FIVE!

February 02, 2021

Jenny Sanchez:
What are some of the health impacts of getting an inadequate amount of sleep?

Dr. Azizi Seixas:
Sleep is connected with everything in our lives. Iit affects our brains in a sense that it affects how we think, how we assess information, our ability to remember things. It also affects our overall mental health. So folks who don’t get enough sleep are generally more likely to exhibit poor mental health outcomes whether it be chronic or acute. And by that, I mean, chronic meaning over long periods of time or acute meaning just in a short period of time. And it could be more, the person is irritable and the person may go through significant moods that are open door. There’s some other areas where sleep affects our ability to function. So just the energy that you have to engage in daily activities, sleep is extremely important, it’s been shown, and also in terms of your overall health, sleep is connected to risk for cancer, risk for dementia, risk for heart disease, risk for diabetes. It spans a wide range of areas and not many people know. So sleep is important.

Jenny Sanchez:
Who is eligible to participate in this study and how can Sullivan County residents contact you to get involved?

Dr. Azizi Seixas:
That’s a great question. Hope people can get involved in our study. And it’s, it’s more than just a study. We work in partnership with the community. So our costumer is Sullivan County, or its surrounding areas, it’s not about doing a study. It’s about improving the health of the County and its neighbors. That is the key thing in terms of who is eligible. It’s easy. You just have to be 18 years old and above and you identify as someone who is Latino or Hispanic heritage or ancestry and that’s all that is required. They can contact myself, Dr. Seixas or my colleague here, we have a Facebook page called dormir D O R M I R study. They can look us up or they can look us up at NYU. I’m sure we can post or email addresses. We’re going to have social media presence so people can find a way to reach out to us. But primarily contact me or my colleague. Thank you so much. Reach out to us. Thank you.