Just for Women
Hormones, Your Sleep Enemy
How the CCH Sleep Lab May Help Improve Your Sleep
When was the last time you got a really good night’s sleep? Many women suffer from sleep disorders that disrupt restful sleep. While there is no direct link between hormone levels and difficulty sleeping, some research suggests that women have the most difficulty sleeping when hormone levels fluctuate — at certain times during the menstrual cycle and during menopause.“Menopause can sometimes bring the onset of sleep apnea, a sleep disorder characterized by interrupted breathing during sleep,” says Susan Gravelyn, MD, a pulmonologist and Medical Director of Chelsea Community Hospital’s Sleep Lab. “Some women do not show signs of sleep apnea until or after menopause.”
Much of the reason for this may be physiological — three out of four women experience hot flashes during menopause. While a hot flash might rouse you from sleep, life changes and the worries that come with older age are more likely to keep you awake. That’s not to say that middle-aged men don’t worry, too. But your hormonal changes give you a physiological “push” awake.
As with menopause, difficulty sleeping during the menstrual cycle also may be due to female physiology. A woman’s progesterone — a hormone that causes sleepiness —increases during mid-month ovulation and then drops dramatically at the onset of a period. That drop also is the time when women report the most sleep problems.
Women with PMS symptoms seem to have trouble sleeping all the time. They report about one-third less deep sleep than women with no PMS symptoms.
Talk with your physician. She will help you identify the best course of action. For many women, a sleep study can help clarify the source of the problem.
Sleep studies, like those performed at the CCH Sleep Lab, are simply a night’s sleep in a monitored environment.
“Many women are anxious about spending the night in the Sleep Lab,” Dr. Gravelyn says. “But our new facility is really quite comfortable. We monitor brain activity to help determine stage of sleep; we measure how long it takes to fall asleep. There is no medication or sedation.”
Tonight’s the Night
Sleep problems have many sources (see “Ten Steps to Better Sleep” on page 8). Eating a late dinner, having an after-dinner glass of wine, and late-night TV all contribute to sleep problems. But, there is hope for a relaxing evening.Instead of wine and TV, take a warm bath an hour or two before bedtime, and schedule more time for sleep.
If sleep problems continue, talk to your physician about a referral for a sleep study at CCH.
Call the CCH Sleep Lab at
Sleeping for Two
How Pregnancy Affects Your Sleep
As any woman who has ever been pregnant can attest, the body goes through profound changes during pregnancy. It’s probably not too surprising that the quality of sleep suffers, too.In the first trimester, when the body is adjusting to abnormally high hormone levels, women often feel sleepier than usual, but have a harder time falling asleep.
“The first trimester presents the same type of sleep problems that occur during a menstrual cycle,” says Sarah Holda, NP-C, a nurse practitioner in the Women’s Health Center at Chelsea Community Hospital. “Significant changes in hormone levels often disrupt deep sleep.”
During the second trimester, sleep often improves. But entering the third trimester, the physical discomfort of carrying a baby impacts the quality of sleep.
To improve sleep during and after pregnancy, Holda suggests:
- Be prepared to get more sleep. Take naps and go to bed earlier. Your body needs more sleep during this time. If you work and can’t nap, put your feet up and rest.
- Sleep on your left side. Many women find sleeping on their left side — and often putting a pillow under their legs — relieves physical discomfort. It’s also best for the baby. Don’t sleep on your back; it could compress the uterus and make it hard for the baby to get oxygen.
- Take naps when you can. You are going to need the sleep to cope with early morning feedings that the new baby demands.
For more information about pregnancy and
sleep, contact the Women’s Health Center
at
