Women’s sleep health
Women have different sleep needs
Women have unique sleep needs compared to men and they experience more sleep complaints than men at any phase across the lifespan with a marked increase during the menopausal transition (peri-menopause- menopause – post-menopause).
Studies show women need 20 minutes more sleep than their male counterparts, and they experience more adverse effects from undersleeping than men.
Women’s sleep needs are influenced by their menstrual cycle and hormone levels. During a woman’s reproductive life, complex changes occur with varying levels of two hormones in particular – estrogen and progesterone, and a women’s sensitivity to the changes in the two hormones underpin many of the symptoms experienced by women. It is not unusual for a woman to feel like their sleep isn’t as good pre-menstruation and at menstruation. Surveys have found that a third of women experience increased fatigue, difficulty in concentrating, and lethargy during this time.
Pregnancy and postpartum
Sleep patterns change during pregnancy and the postpartum period due to changes in the mother’s hormones and changes in her body. This does lead to disrupted sleep and shorter sleep durations however getting enough good sleep is still important as poor sleep during pregnancy is associated with negative health outcomes for both mother and child.
Common sleep disorders such as snoring, sleep apnoea, and insomnia can start during pregnancy and affect women and their babies. Poor sleep is now linked to poor maternal and foetal outcomes such as gestational hypertension/pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and low birth weight babies.
Sleep disturbances, including insomnia during pregnancy, can lead to a decline in mental health for women and their partners during this period.
Menopause transition and sleep
Menopause in women is a transition phase from a woman’s reproductive to non-reproductive life stage. Women typically start to experience this phase in their 40’s or earlier. It is when the sex hormones start decreasing (peri-menopause) and it marks the end of a woman’s reproductive years (post-menopause).
Sleep complaints are common during the menopause transition. Up to 60% of perimenopausal and post-menopausal women experience disrupted sleep in these phases. Menopause is associated with increased sleep-onset insomnia i.e., making it hard to fall asleep. Postmenopausal women also are more likely to screen positive for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA).
Surgical menopause and sleep
Research shows women who have had their ovaries removed experience longer times to go fall asleep and sleep for shorter durations compared to their peers who transition naturally. Women who undergo surgical menopause are also twice as likely to experience insomnia.
