The recent study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health analyzed sleep data from over 94,000 nights, focusing on how sleep patterns are affected during perimenopause. This research involved 338 participants from the Apple Women’s Health Study, primarily women aged 45 to 59. Findings indicate that many women experienced increased wakefulness, spending more time awake at night both before and after their final menstrual period.
Notably, the study observed that 60% of the women showed a 7% average increase in wake after sleep onset in the 18 months leading to menopause. In the year surrounding menopause, participants reported being awake approximately 0.8% more of their total sleep time compared to their pre-menopausal state. Individual experiences varied significantly, with some women reporting pronounced increases in wakefulness while others experienced little to no change.
Additionally, participants documented various menopause symptoms, with 82.3% reporting hot flashes, 68.1% experiencing irritability, and 65.7% noting mental exhaustion. The research underscores the diverse nature of menopause experiences, emphasizing that the impact on sleep can differ greatly among individuals.