Menopause and Lack of Sleep

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

26 Apr 2008 05:30 PM

A lot of women in the early stages of menopause are finding that their worst problem is the lack of sleep.

A recent survey of women between the ages of forty-three and fifty-five in the early stages of menopause looked at the severity of symptoms, including hot flashes, day and night sweats, mood issues, forgetfulness, sleep difficulties, and vaginal dryness. What constitutes "early stages" of menopause? Three years or less from your last menstrual period.

Of the more than one hundred highly symptomatic women who responded to the study, the majority said difficulty sleeping was the worst. More than ninety-four percent of study respondents complained about persistent and severe sleep problems.

Here's how the rest of the symptoms fared:

• Ninety-two percent experienced ongoing forgetfulness
• Eighty-seven percent of respondents experienced irritability
• Eighty-five percent suffered from night sweats
• Eighty-three percent had severe and persistent hot flashes

Day sweats, depression, vaginal dryness, and occasional bleeding scored far lower on the survey. Did you expect hot flashes to be in the top three? I did -- I think that tends to be the symptom of menopause that gets the most attention (or the most vocal complaining).

The survey focused on women in the early stages of menopause because so many other studies have looked at women in later stages of menopause. Experts have long noticed that hot flashes tend to increase as menopause progresses; more recent studies are finding that other symptoms take center stage in the early years.

Because the women surveyed were highly symptomatic, the percentages for the general population may be somewhat different. But this survey can pave the way for future studies of the early stages of menopause.

If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping (due to menopause or other issues), there are a lot of different things you can try. The Families.com Health Blog is full of tips and tricks to help you get a better night's sleep!

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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