The Relationship Between Women's Hormones & Sleep
Women are twice as likely to experience insomnia and other sleep issues compared to men and contributing factors include genetics, fluctuating hormones during menstruation, pregnancy and menopause (Shechter & Boivin, 2010). As poor quality sleep and shortened sleep duration are associated with increased risk for hypertension, metabolic disease, mood disorders and cardiovascular diseases, it is important to prioritise sleep for good health.
Menstruation and sleep
Menstruating females have reported experiencing reduced sleep quality & more disturbed sleep in their luteal phase/the week before menstruation compared to other weeks of the month. During the luteal phase, progesterone increases the body temperature which reduces REM sleep and increases fragmented sleep. In addition, some women with PMS will experience alterations in their sleep architecture during the luteal phase (meaning that their sleep will not progress normally through the sleep phases) and this may contribute to less time spent in restorative sleep phases (Vyas, 2020).
2. Pregnancy and sleep
Pregnancy is a time when women will experience numerous physiological changes that will affect sleep. Women may experience reflux, restless leg symptom, nasal congestion, nocturnal micturition (night urination) and general discomfort which will often reduce the quality and quantity of sleep (Pengo, Won & Bourjeily, 2018). Furthermore, the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone are increased dramatically in pregnant women and these will affect sleep regulation.
Sleep disturbances have been shown to negatively affect the health outcomes of the mother & fetus/child. Shortened and poor quality sleep has been associated with negative outcomes in pregnant women, and studies have linked shortened sleep to increased risk for hypertension, gestational diabetes, preterm birth and longer labour duration (Lee & Gay, 2004) (Qiu, Enquobahrie, Frederick, Abetew & Williams, 2010) (Williams et al., 2010).
3. Menopause and sleep
Often, peri and postmenopausal women will report negative changes to sleep including more fragmented sleep, waking up unrefreshed, poor sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Contributing factors to poorer sleep during menopause include vasomotor symptoms (e.g. hot flushes or night sweats), hormonal shifts (decrease in female sex hormones), reduced age-associated melatonin secretion and increased prevalence of mood disorders in postmenopausal women (Pengo, Won & Bourjeily, 2018).
REFERENCES
Lee, K., & Gay, C. (2004). Sleep in late pregnancy predicts the length of labor and type of delivery. American Journal Of Obstetrics And Gynecology, 191(6), 2041-2046. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.05.086
Nowakowski, S., Meers, J., & Heimback, E. (2013). Sleep and Women's Health. Sleep Medicine Research, 4(1), 1-22.
Pengo, M., Won, C., & Bourjeily, G. (2018). Sleep in Women Across the Life Span. Chest, 154(1), 196-206. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.04.005
Qiu, C., Enquobahrie, D., Frederick, I., Abetew, D., & Williams, M. (2010). Glucose intolerance and gestational diabetes risk in relation to sleep duration and snoring during pregnancy: a pilot study. BMC Women's Health, 10(1). doi: 10.1186/1472-6874-10-17
Shechter, A., & Boivin, D. (2010). Sleep, Hormones, and Circadian Rhythms throughout the Menstrual Cycle in Healthy Women and Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. International Journal Of Endocrinology, 2010, 1-17. doi: 10.1155/2010/259345
Vyas, N. (2020). PMS and Insomnia. Retrieved 19 September 2020, from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/pms-and-insomnia
Williams, M., Miller, R., Qiu, C., Cripe, S., Gelaye, B., & Enquobahrie, D. (2010). Associations of Early Pregnancy Sleep Duration with Trimester-Specific Blood Pressures and Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy. Sleep, 33(10), 1363-1371. doi: 10.1093/sleep/33.10.1363
