Case-control study, 2015
How does menstrual cycle phase affect sleep in midlife women with and without insomnia?
Sleep is more disrupted during the luteal phase (high progesterone) than the follicular phase in midlife women, with more awakenings and less deep sleep. Women with insomnia had consistently worse sleep than women without insomnia in both phases.
What they did
Researchers recorded sleep patterns and brain waves overnight in 20 women in the menopausal transition: 11 with insomnia and 9 without, average age 48.8 years. Each woman slept in the lab during both the follicular phase (lower progesterone) and the luteal phase (higher progesterone) of her menstrual cycle.
What they found
Both groups had more awakenings and arousals per hour of sleep and less deep sleep during the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase. Both groups showed more sleep spindles (brief brain wave patterns) and longer spindles in the luteal phase. Women with insomnia had shorter total sleep, more wakefulness after falling asleep, and lower sleep efficiency than women without insomnia, regardless of cycle phase.
What it means for you
Sleep naturally gets worse in the luteal phase in midlife women, probably due to progesterone effects on the brain's sleep systems. This happens in both healthy women and those with insomnia. A limitation is the small sample size of 20 women.
20
women studied
11
women with insomnia
48.8
average age
About the study
- Original title
- Menstrual Cycle-Related Variation in Physiological Sleep in Women in the Early Menopausal Transition
- Authors
- de Zambotti M, Willoughby AR, Sassoon SA et al.
- Journal
- The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Case-control study
- Participants
- 20
- What was tested
- N/A
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1210/jc.2015-1844
Topics
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