Sleep expert says women twice as likely to suffer from insomnia

Women are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia and restless leg syndrome than men.

This is according to sleep expert Dr Alison Bentley, who also said a woman’s sleep may change every month as well as during menarche (the onset of menstruation), pregnancy, and menopause, because of the hormones involved.

Sleep patterns change as girls grow up

In babies and children, sleep needs and challenges are similar for boys and girls, but once girls experience menstruation, they diverge.

Women are more likely to suffer from insomnia and restless leg syndrome, while men are more likely to suffer from sleep apnoea… until women reach menopause, and then it’s much of a muchness, said the sleep expert at Restonic.

Sleep and menstruation

“The first part of the menstrual cycle has a lot of oestrogen, which is good for sleep,” Bentley explains.

“Then, after ovulation occurs, there’s a lot of progesterone, which is also good for sleep. It improves sleep duration and therefore deep sleep.

“It’s also protective against sleep apnoea because it improves the muscle tone in the throat.”

Bentley says it’s important to understand the effect that painful periods (dysmenorrhea) can have in disrupting sleep and that sleeping poorly makes one more sensitive to pain.

She suggests women ensure they speak to their doctors to get the right anti-inflammatory medicines for pain management to protect their sleep, and that for some women, it’s worth considering taking a sleeping tablet for just the four or five days a month that their sleep is affected.

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Pregnancy and sleep

Bentley says the oestrogen and progesterone hormones affect sleep in pregnancy, which means pregnant women are often prone to sleep disorders.

“Many women in the first three months of pregnancy will report excessive tiredness,” she says.

“But in the last three months, it can be difficult to sleep because of the big tummy, which can make finding a position uncomfortable and needing to get up to use the toilet more frequently.”

She says restless leg syndrome is more likely to occur because iron moves from the mom into the baby, which results in an iron deficiency.

“Sleep apnoea, which is a collapse of the airway, is also more likely to occur because of weight gained in the final trimester, as well as the fact that pregnant women may struggle with a stuffy nose.”

She says that while 50% of women will experience poorer sleep during pregnancy, there is a correlation between poor sleep in the final trimester and post-partum depression, so women should speak to their doctors to get support with non-medication means of managing sleep disorders.

Sleep and menopause

Hot flushes associated with menopause and drop-offs in oestrogen and progesterone can keep women up at night.

“As you get older, whether you’re male or female, your sleep is likely to be lighter, shorter and the quality is likely to be lower,” she says.

“This is normal. For example, when you’re 15 years old, you get a big surge of melatonin at night, which makes you feel sleepy. But from that age onward, it drops.”

By the time a person is 50 or 55 years old, they will find they are not as sleepy at night.

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On top of this, women dealing with menopause may experience poor sleep because lower levels of oestrogen and progesterone mean they are no longer protected from sleep apnoea and there’s a change in body weight distribution.

“You tend to have more testosterone types of hormones floating around, which causes a more male kind of body weight distribution as far as fat tissue is concerned.”

This makes it more likely to develop sleep apnoea.

Bentley implores women who are struggling with sleep to seek help from their doctor or use this 7-question assessment, which will help you assess whether you should consult a medical professional.