Menopause: Hormone Fluctuations Disrupt Sleep

New findings published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism reveals that women in the early phases of menopause are more likely to have difficulties with sleep due to certain fluctuations in their menstrual cycle.

Otherwise known as perimenopause--or the earliest stages of menopause before the transition to the change--women will start irregular menstrual cycles due to changes in hormone levels. Symptoms that include sleep disturbances, hot flashes and other issues will typically begin occurring anywhere from three to five years before full-on menopause, when a woman is in her 40s (though it can occur at different times for some, according to previous findings.)

The recent study zeroed in on how this can affect sleep during the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle. The luteal phase occurs prior to menstruation while the follicular phase occurs about two weeks after menstruation.

For the study, researchers from the Center for Health Sciences at the SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif, and the University of Withwatersand in Johannesburg, South Africa, examined sleep patterns in 20 perimenopausal women. From the sample, 11 of the participants experienced difficulty sleeping at least three times a week for at least a month beginning with the onset of transition to menopause.

During the study, the participants slept in a laboratory twice--once in the days leading up to the start of the menstrual period and then again several days after their period had started. Researchers also used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure brain activity as the women slept. Lastly, women completed a survey regarding sleep quality a month prior to the laboratory tests, as well as blood tests to measure any changes or imbalances in hormone levels during the study.

Findings revealed that before the onset of menstrual period, many of the participants showed more difficulties with slow-wave sleep. Furthermore, they were more likely to have difficulties sleeping, waking up more often and were more aroused, with sleep interruptions lasting from 3 to 15 seconds.

"Menstrual cycle variation in hormones is one piece in the overall picture of sleep quality in midlife women," concluded Fiona C. Baker, PhD, of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, in a news release. "This research can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind sleep disturbances during the approach to menopause and can inform the development of better symptom management strategies."

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