Linking Stressful Experiences to Health Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals: The Sleep Deficiency Pathway

It is well documented that sexual and gender minority people encounter stressful experiences such as family relationship problems and even physical violence more often than do heterosexual people. The causal roles of such stressful experiences in sleep deficiency and of sleep deficiency in mental and physical health are also well documented. That sexual and gender minority individuals suffer multiple health disparities has also been established. What is not yet well understood is how these variables might be linked. This article explores what is called the "sleep deficiency pathway"-that is, that sleep deficiencies which can be caused by and/or exacerbated by minority stress may in turn contribute to significant health disparities experienced by sexual and gender minority people. If sleep deficiency is an important pathway from adverse experiences to health disparities, the use of effective treatments for sleep deficiencies could improve sleep quantity and/or quality, and in this way, enable better health among sexual and gender minority individuals.