Insomnia: women suffer from it more than men

Sleep problems can affect anyone, but women are more likely to suffer from insomnia than men, warns the American nonprofit association national Sleep Foundation (NSF). Lack of sleep It can cause daytime sleepiness and contribute to a variety of conditions that affect physical and mental health.

No factor explains the disparity in insomnia between men and women; in exchange, several different elements are combined to create the biggest sleep challenges for women. Knowing about these possible causes can help women solve their sleep problems, sleep better, and overcome insomnia.

According to NSF, risk of lifelong insomnia it is 40% higher for women than for men. Blaming this gap entirely on hormones oversimplifies it: women also tend to take on most of the worry and emotional work around the house, and they tend to experience higher levels of anxiety.

But for Mary Jane Minkin, obstetrician-gynecologist and clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences of Yale School of Medicine, “Anecdotal evidence and studies suggest that hormones probably play an important role. “

“If the hormonal secretion curve is observed throughout the average menstrual cycle – he warns Minkin– Varying levels of estrogen and progesterone can be seen throughout the month, with a sharp drop in estrogen just before menstruation. For that A lot of people will say that a day or two before their period their sleep is terrible. “

When a woman enters the perimenopause, start experimenting more fluctuations and produces less estrogen and progesterone throughout the month, that it can interfere with your sleep. “The real correlation between these drops and fluctuations in hormones and insomnia should be studied more widely and understanding that connection is confused by how a lack of estrogen is associated with hot flashes, which can disrupt sleep, ”they say. Minkin and other connoisseurs.

Women’s studies on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and the dream highly recommend a link between female hormones and insomnia. “The MARLET it is often prescribed for menopausal women (and the following years) to help them manage side effects unpleasant aspects of this transition, which include sleep problems, ”emphasizes the specialist. And add: “Some types of HRT only include estrogen, while others have a combination of estrogen and progesterone. High levels of estrogen and progesterone they occur naturally during pregnancy, which may explain why some pregnant women often get a pleasant sleep “.

Although postmenopausal women have very low levels of estrogen and progesterone, after the menopause process is over, they often start to sleep better. “We believe that hormonal fluctuations may be more troublesome for some women than their actual hormone levels ”, To explain Minkin.

For her, if a postmenopausal woman suffers from insomnia, low hormone levels could be to blame, it is therefore a good idea to speak with a healthcare professional about HRT options. A 2008 randomized controlled study of some 2,000 postmenopausal women in the UK he found “Slight but significant” improvements in sleep after one year of HRT compared to those who took a placebo.

Hadine Joffé, professor of psychiatry and executive director of the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for women’s health and gender biology in the Harvard Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he says that “Hormonal fluctuations can be a cause of insomnia in some women. Corn for others, sleep disturbances may be anxiety-related or caused by noisy neighbors or a snoring bed partner ”.

Joffé Maintains that While some women experience incredible sleep during pregnancy, many others report terrible insomnia during this time of life.. His advice? To follow. “Trying a sleep app or even a conventional sleep diary can help. If a person tracks their sleep for several months, they may start to notice the emergence of a pattern. If so, this information could be useful. in the future, ”he says.

“If you know that there are two or three days in every month that you don’t sleep well, you need to make sure that this is a time when you practice the best possible sleep hygiene, avoid alcohol and, If you have a partner with whom you share family responsibilities, you can ask him or her to stand up with the baby or toddler, ”he says.

Occasionally, targeted therapy for those days may also help. For example, complete with a few milligrams of melatonin before bedtime, the hormone that our brain naturally produces in response to darkness, can help signal the brain that it is time to sleep.

Although this is not always possible due to work or family responsibilities, Kin Yuen, sleep medicine specialist Stanford Medicine, suggests Do your best to keep up with natural daily hormonal fluctuations to help keep your sleep on track. To do this, try to find out when the body naturally releases cortisol (the hormone we make in the morning that helps us wake up) and melatonin (the hormone we make at night to help us fall asleep). .

By determining when a person has the most energy, they can better identify when their body naturally releases these hormones. If you adjust your schedule to meet these rhythms, you may experience fewer sleep interruptions, even in the face of constantly fluctuating female hormones. “ of Yuen.

Ultimately, Although HRT is not prescribed for women who have not yet gone through menopause, so many Minkin What Joffé warn that if anyone is sure their insomnia is hormone related, preferably after keeping a journal for a while and after trying other techniques without success, it is worth talking to your doctor about taking birth control pills.

“The hormonal contraceptives may mitigate the ups and downs that are just not good for some people’s brains. It’s got to be the right treatment for the right person, but it can help, ”he says. Joffé.

Of course, contraceptives they have side effects. Some women report nausea, headaches, and decreased libido. Although rare, more serious side effects, such as blood clots, have also been reported. But for many women who suffer from what appears to be hormone-related insomnia, the benefits may outweigh the risks.

Minkin he says that even for postmenopausal patients, If they are otherwise healthy, he will often prescribe birth control pills. Birth control pills have higher hormone levels than traditional HRT, And if a woman has used them in the past and has not experienced any negative side effects, this can be a good indication that they will work well for her.

“The only downside is that we have no way of knowing when a woman has finished her menopause, because the pill will artificially give you a period. So, to know if you are done with menopause, you have to stop taking the pill, “he concludes. Minkin. At this point, she and other experts say that More research is needed to truly understand how the ebb and flow of female hormones affects sleep.

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