David X Li1, Sarah Romans2, Mary Jane De Souza3, Brian Murray4, Gillian Einstein5. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G3. Electronic address: dxl@jhmi.edu. 2. Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Wellington, 23A Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington 6242, New Zealand. 3. Women's Exercise and Bone Health Laboratory, University of Toronto, 55 Harbord St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 2W6. 4. Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G3; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M7; Women's College Research Institute, Women's College Hospital, 76 Grenville St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1B2.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Sleep and mood disturbances in women have often been linked to the menstrual cycle, implying an ovarian hormonal causation. However, most studies in this area have used self-reported menstrual cycle phase rather than direct measurement of ovarian hormone concentrations. Further, many studies have focused primarily on peri- and postmenopausal populations reporting clinical sleep difficulty. In this study, we examined the associations among sleep quality, mood, and ovarian hormone concentration in a random sample of community-dwelling, nonclinical women of reproductive age. METHODS: Our sample consisted of 19 non-help-seeking women aged 18-43 years, each contributing an average of 39.5 nights of data. Over the 42 days of the study, we collected self-reported and actigraphic sleep-quality data, concentrations of urinary estrogen and progesterone metabolites (estrone-3-glucuronide (E1G) and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide [PdG], respectively), and daily mood ratings. Linear-mixed models were used to estimate associations, clustering longitudinal observations by the participant. RESULTS: We found a significant positive association between Sleep Efficiency and E1G, and a significant negative association between Sleep Efficiency and PdG. Otherwise, the self-reported and actigraphic sleep measures were not associated with ovarian hormone concentrations. Self-reported sleep was strongly associated with mood, whereas actigraphic sleep was associated with only two of the 11 individual mood items, "Feeling on Top of Things" and "Difficulty Coping." CONCLUSIONS: In this community sample of women of reproductive age, ovarian hormones play little, if any, role in day-to-day sleep quality. Our findings additionally highlight the different associations that self-reported and actigraphic sleep show with hormones and mood.
BACKGROUND: Sleep and mood disturbances in women have often been linked to the menstrual cycle, implying an ovarian hormonal causation. However, most studies in this area have used self-reported menstrual cycle phase rather than direct measurement of ovarian hormone concentrations. Further, many studies have focused primarily on peri- and postmenopausal populations reporting clinical sleep difficulty. In this study, we examined the associations among sleep quality, mood, and ovarian hormone concentration in a random sample of community-dwelling, nonclinical women of reproductive age. METHODS: Our sample consisted of 19 non-help-seeking women aged 18-43 years, each contributing an average of 39.5 nights of data. Over the 42 days of the study, we collected self-reported and actigraphic sleep-quality data, concentrations of urinary estrogen and progesterone metabolites (estrone-3-glucuronide (E1G) and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide [PdG], respectively), and daily mood ratings. Linear-mixed models were used to estimate associations, clustering longitudinal observations by the participant. RESULTS: We found a significant positive association between Sleep Efficiency and E1G, and a significant negative association between Sleep Efficiency and PdG. Otherwise, the self-reported and actigraphic sleep measures were not associated with ovarian hormone concentrations. Self-reported sleep was strongly associated with mood, whereas actigraphic sleep was associated with only two of the 11 individual mood items, "Feeling on Top of Things" and "Difficulty Coping." CONCLUSIONS: In this community sample of women of reproductive age, ovarian hormones play little, if any, role in day-to-day sleep quality. Our findings additionally highlight the different associations that self-reported and actigraphic sleep show with hormones and mood.
Authors: Elisabet Alzueta; Massimiliano de Zambotti; Harold Javitz; Teji Dulai; Benedetta Albinni; Katharine C Simon; Negin Sattari; Jing Zhang; Alessandra Shuster; Sara C Mednick; Fiona C Baker Journal: Int J Womens Health Date: 2022-04-08