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Review
. 2018 Jul;154(1):196-206.
doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.04.005. Epub 2018 Apr 19.

Sleep in Women Across the Life Span

Martino F Pengo  1 , Christine H Won  2 , Ghada Bourjeily  3
Affiliations
Review

Sleep in Women Across the Life Span

Martino F Pengo et al. Chest. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

There are many ways in which women experience sleep differently from men. Women contending with distinct sleep challenges respond differently to sleep disorders, as well as sleep deprivation and deficiency, and face particular health outcomes as a result of poor sleep. Idiosyncrasies, including changes that occur with the biological life cycles of menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, make the understanding of sleep in women an important topic to study. Each phase of a woman's life, from childhood to menopause, increases the risk of sleep disturbance in unique ways that may require distinct management. Indeed, new research is unraveling novel aspects of sleep pathology in women and the fundamental role that sex hormones play in influencing sleep regulation and arousals and possibly outcomes of sleep conditions. Moreover, studies indicate that during times of hormonal change, women are at an increased risk for sleep disturbances such as poor sleep quality and sleep deprivation, as well as sleep disorders such as OSA, restless legs syndrome, and insomnia. This article reviews sleep changes in female subjects from neonatal life to menopause.

Keywords: childhood; menopause; pregnancy; sex differences; sleep; women.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sleep in women across the life span. E = estrogen; NREM = non-rapid eye movement; P = progesterone; REM = rapid eye movement; SDB = sleep-disordered breathing; T = trimester; TST = total sleep time; WASO = wake after sleep onset.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Sleep and the menstrual cycle. FSH = follicular-stimulating hormone; LH = luteinizing hormone. See Figure 1 legend for expansion of other abbreviation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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