Sleep is a recurrent physiologic and fundamental process in every human being, regardless of ethnicity, gender, birthplace, or occupation; however, the features of sleep are swayed by genetic background and environmental influences. All these factors have an intricate relationship, and arise from a complex and assorted genetic repertoire in the alleles that promote a higher genetic variation in human populations. Sleep disorders have become an uprising public health problem in the modern society; in addition, the correlation between sleep disorders and the development of late chronic diseases has been extensively studied, finding an important causality between them. Therefore, an adequate evaluation of the current situation in a developing continent such as Africa is essential to develop satisfactory health policies. In this review, we will reprise several aspects that influence the sleep-wake cycle in individuals with African heritage (including African Americans and sub-Saharan Africans), such as genetic background, HIV infection, tropical diseases, immunological markers, cultural aspects, and place them into Africa's context in order to have a better comprehension of its situation. Highlights ? African genes predispose to obstructive sleep apnea and short sleep. ? CRP and IL-6 induce a pro-inflammatory state and sleep disturbances.
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