Connecting Neighborhoods and Sleep Health

Abstract This chapter is a meta-commentary on the field of neighborhood health research. Neighborhood research has hitherto focused on a variety of health behaviors and outcomes—such as diet, smoking, drinking, physical activity—but not so much sleep. This chapter focuses on the neighborhood social and physical context (e.g., neighborhood safety, neighborhood stigma, neighborhood noise, neighborhood light, and neighborhood crowding) and how it can impact sleep health and sleep disorders across populations and geographies. In addition to discussing a range of neighborhood exposures, the chapter discusses the designs of studies as well general methodological issues in the neighborhood health field. The chapter also provides a discussion of neighborhood-level interventions that can be utilized in the sleep field. Lastly, this chapter highlights the advancement of neighborhood research extending to sleep health.