Sleep and Its Disorders Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations

Abstract

While sexual and gender minority populations have been increasingly identified as an at-risk population for negative health outcomes, research has only recently begun to focus on sleep health among sexual and gender minority populations. This chapter defines terms relevant for discussing sexual and gender minority populations, focuses on the theoretical rational for understanding vulnerabilities to poor sleep outcomes among sexual and gender minority populations, reviews the existing literature examining sleep health among sexual and gender minority populations, and suggests directions for future research examining sleep health among sexual and gender minority populations. Indeed, the emerging literature suggests that important sleep disparities may occur across sexual and gender minority identity, and that these sleep disparities may have important consequences for other health outcomes. More work, however, is needed to understand why sexual and gender minority status places individuals at risk for specific sleep outcomes, and why particular sexual and gender minority subgroups may be particularly vulnerable to poor sleep health.