LGBTQ Youth Aren't Getting Enough Sleep, Study Finds

LGBTQ youth are having trouble sleeping. And with so much anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, legislation, pseudo righteous figures declaring war on equality, it's really no wonder.

As reported by NBC News, LGBTQ youth are twice as likely at risk of sleep problems than their straight counterparts, according to a new study published in the journal LGBT Health.

"Researchers analyzed data on more than 8,500 young people ages 10 to 14, a critical time for mental and physical development," NBC News reports. "They found that 35.1% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported trouble falling or staying asleep in the previous two weeks, compared to 13.5% of straight-identifying adolescents."

Additionally, 30.8% of questioning youths reported problems with getting a full night's rest.

"Sleep is incredibly important for a teenager's health," said lead author Jason M. Nagata, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. "There's growth spurts and hormonal changes that help you develop normally."

The bullying and discrimination LGBTQ youth face feeds into sleep problems, said Dr. Matthew Hirschtritt, a psychiatrist and researcher with Kaiser Permanente who did not work on the study.

"Poor sleep worsening mental health issues and mental health issues worsening sleep," said Hirschtritt.

Adolescents who get insufficient sleep may also have difficulty completing schoolwork and facing other academic challenges, Hirschtritt said, "which can exacerbate some of the school-based problems that LGBT youth already face."

The study points to existing research that already shows sleep issues among sexual minorities, said Nagata, but he believes the LGBTQ youth focus has been done for the first time.

"This is such a volatile period, both physically and mentally," he said. "Teens are particularly vulnerable to the opinions of their peers, so it's a high-risk group for mental health problems and suicide."

Combating these sleep issues requires parents getting involved more in their children's lives as supportive forces, said co-author Kyle T. Ganson, a professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

"Adolescent development is a challenging time for many given the social pressures and physical, psychological and emotional changes that occur," Ganson said in a statement. "Understanding this process and being present to support it is crucial for positive health outcomes.