Chronotype and sleep patterns in rural and urban South African individuals of African origin

Investigators: A/Prof Dale Rae and Dr O’Brien

We have previously observed unusually long sleep in South Africans of African-origin, while also noticing that many of the traditional tools used to assess sleep quality and chronotype (the behavioural expression of our circadian rhythms – think night owls and morning people) may not be valid in an African setting. In this study we are interrogating the use of these tools by comparing their outputs to measured sleep patterns in rural, older South Africans. Other team members: Prof von Schantz, A/Prof Gòmez-Olivé, Dr Scheuermaier, Dr Redman.