Sleep Problems Associated With Menopause Vary Among Ethnic Groups

According to research by Rush University Medical Center, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep increase as women go through menopause .

Waking up earlier than planned also increases through late perimenopause but decreases when women become postmenopausal.

“Sleep difficulties, especially problems staying asleep[sleep problems], are relatively prevalent concerns among women going through the menopausal transition,” said Dr. Howard Kravitz, associate professor of psychiatry and preventive medicine at Rush University Medical Center and a principal investigator of the study.

“Approximately 16% of postmenopausal women report having difficulty falling asleep and 41% report waking up frequently during the night.”

Compared with other ethnic groups, Caucasian women were more likely to report difficulty staying asleep, while Hispanic women were less likely than other ethnic groups to wake several times during the night.

Hispanic women were also significantly less likely to report waking early than other ethnic group. Compared with Hispanic, Caucasian, African American and Japanese women, Chinese women were more likely to report early morning awakening.

In naturally postmenopausal women, women who were on hormone therapy had less trouble falling asleep and waking several times during the night than naturally postmenopausal women not on hormone therapy.

However, whether or not women were hormone users did not influence the effect of vasomotor systems or changing hormone levels on sleep symptoms.

More information at ScienceDaily