Interaction between reproductive hormones and physiological sleep in women

Abstract

Context: The changing hormonal milieu around menopause is implicated in the development of sleep disturbances. No studies have assessed the association between concurrent physiological measures of sleep and serum hormone concentrations in perimenopausal women. Objective: This study aimed to assess the interaction between physiological sleep and reproductive hormone measures in perimenopausal women. Design and Participants: This was a cross-sectional laboratory study of 33 perimenopausal women age 43-52 years (17 with no sleep complaints and 16 with a clinical diagnosis of insomnia). Eleven premenopausal women without sleep complaints (18-27 y), were included to determine whether hormone-sleep relationships differed depending on reproductive stage. Main Outcome Measures: Concurrent polysomnographic sleep indices and serum hormone levels (estradiol and follicle stimulating hormone [FSH]) were measured. Results: FSH was positively associated with polysomnographic-defined wakefulness after sleep onset, and number of awakenings and arousals in perimenopausal women (P