Abstract
Introduction
Approximately 40%-60% of menopausal women suffer from sleep disturbances, commonly linked to vasomotor symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats. This study aims to evaluate sleep patterns and quality in peri- and post-menopausal women using actigraphy.
Methods
Thirty-nine participants (45 to 65y, BMI 25.62±3.02 kg/m², Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score 10.98±4.10) experiencing menopausal symptoms underwent actigraphy recordings of sleep onset/offset, duration, and mid-sleep times over at least three consecutive nights with 357 nights of data analysed.
Results
The vasomotor subscales (hot flash and night sweat, Greene Climacterics questionnaire) yielded a score of 2.43±1.15 (compared to general population: 1.79±1.12 and menopause clinic: 4.41±1.70). Sleep onset times ranged from 19:06-03:16 with the most common time at 22:00-22:59 (31.1%) followed by 23:00-23:59 (27.5%). Sleep offset times ranged from 03:39-11:28 with the most common time at 06:00-06:59 (34.5%). The average sleep duration ranged from 231 to 819 minutes with the most common duration 470-529 min (33.6%) with 43.1% of nights with <8h of sleep. The mid-sleep times ranged from 23:50-05:19 with the most common mid-sleep time at 02:30-02:59(19%), followed by 02:00-02:29 (17.9%) and 03:00-03:29 (17.4%).
Discussion
In consideration of demographic factors, moderate vasomotor symptoms and some irregularities in sleep-wake timing, the menopausal women in this study largely have adequate sleep duration of around eight or more hours. It is likely that their symptoms were not as severe as the clinic sample. However, it is not clear if better sleep in this group is linked to increased awareness of sleep as a health behaviour.