Sleep difficulties, especially problems staying asleep, are relatively prevalent concerns among women going through the menopausal transition, revealed by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Researchers find that 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.
“Women should feel comfortable discussing their sleep problems with their healthcare providers to sort out the many potential contributing factors,” said Howard Kravitz, DO, MPH, associate professor of psychiatry and preventive medicine at Rush University Medical Center and a principal investigator of the study. “Undiagnosed and untreated sleep disturbances can contribute to decreased well-being and functioning in family, social and occupational roles.”
The study is published in the July 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
Source: Rush University Medical Center, USA