Sleep and the Bear Gay Community

Sleep is a dynamic process that our brain and body needs for physical
restoration and proper mental processing. According to Fadia (2002), the
amount of sleep that is necessary depends on a number of factors (age,
weight, etc.) Infants require about 16 hours of sleep while teenagers
require around 9. For most adults, about 7 or 8 hours of sleep tends to

be the average. However, there are some adults that require as less as
5 hours a night and as much as 10 hours of sleep per night. In
addition the amount of sleep a person needs will also increase if that person
has been deprived of sleep or experiencing sleep deprivation. This
causes sleep debt. This means that when a person is deprived of sleep that
sleep must then be made up (2002). Many people are able to notice the
difference between a good night sleep and waking up feeling sleep
deprived. However, those who have constantly had to deal with sleep
deprivation developed a conditioning that overtime became normalized. They !
were unable to determine that sleep deprivation had caused and
continues to cause impairments in their judgment, reaction time and/or in
their overall functioning. They simply have come to believe that this is
the way it is for them. This process has been noted in larger heavier
individuals that have been heavy most of their lives. Thus, this article
will focus on sleep disorders and gay men in the bear community in order
to increase awareness regarding the health risks posed by sleep
disorders in the GLBTQ community.

Sleep Apnea: A Common Sleep Disorder Affecting the Bear Community

What is Sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep breathing disorder that
causes severe sleep deprivation by interrupting sleep and collapsing the
windpipe. This occurs because of a build up of extra tissue in the neck
area from weight gain. Men tend to gain weight in their neck and have
thicker, heavier necks. When we fall asleep our muscles relax throughout
our body. When our throat muscles relax the weight of the neck, along
with attempting to inhale causes the windpipe to collapse and become
blocked. When this occurs the individual must wake up to regain his
muscle tone in order to open the windpipe and breathe. This occurs for just
about three seconds before returning to sleep and usually the
individual is unaware of waking. However, some individuals may have awareness
that their sleep is very restless.

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