Childhood and adult trauma create sleepless nights for midlife women

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/tnam-caa092120.php

News Release 28-Sep-2020
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)

Sleep disturbances are often reported by postmenopausal women. A new study reports just how prevalent those sleep problems are and that women who endured trauma as children or adults are more likely to suffer poor-quality sleep. Study results will be presented during the 2020 virtual Annual Meeting of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), which opens on September 28.

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Of the participants in the study, 44% reported childhood trauma, and 60% reported experiencing trauma as an adult. The most common sleep-related problems documented within the group were actigraphy-measured short sleep duration (61%) and waking after the onset of sleep (WASO; 60%), as well as self-reported poor sleep quality (33%).

Researchers noted that childhood trauma was most related to persistently poor WASO, whereas adult trauma was most associated with poor sleep quality. Neither type of trauma was related to persistently poor sleep duration.

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