The symptoms of women going through the menopause will vary, due to hormonal, physical and psychological changes. However, in the majority of cases a woman’s sleep patterns will be effected.
During the perimenopause or transition phase, a woman’s ovaries gradually (over several years) decrease production of oestrogen and progesterone. From perimenopause to post-menopause, women report the most sleeping problems. Most notably, these include hot flushes, changes in mood and insomnia. In some cases sleep problems are often accompanied by depression and anxiety.
According to research by Dr Emsellem 35 – 40% of menopausal women have sleep problems.
Generally, post-menopausal women are less satisfied with their sleep and as many as 61% report insomnia symptoms, according to The Sleep Foundation.
Although insomnia is a symptom of menopause, it can also result in hormone imbalance or worsen the symptoms or hormone imbalance. This occurs because the body requires sleep for hormones to work properly. Untreated sleep disorders can lead to depression, fatigue and anxiety which may make falling and staying asleep more difficult.
Oestrogen And Progesterone’s Effects On Sleep
Oestrogen and progesterone affect sleep, and decreasing levels of either hormone can cause sleep disorders. The image below shows how the levels of oestrogen and progesterone change by age.
The chart below shows how these two hormones decrease drastically in a woman’s body in the years leading up to menopause.
You can see from the table below the impact that the drop in each hormone has on a woman’s quality of sleep.
