title: Women's sleep in health and disease.
abstract: A huge amount of knowledge about sleep has accumulated during the last 5 decades following the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Nevertheless, there are numerous areas of considerable ignorance. One of these concerns the particularities of sleep in women. Most basic and clinical studies have been performed in male subjects, and only very recently research groups around the world have addressed women's sleep in health and disease. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on the influence of oestrogens on the brain and on the distinctive changes of sleep across the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy and menopause. In addition, studies in female rodents are reviewed as well as the knowledge on female peculiarities regarding the interactions between sleep regulation and age-related changes in circadian rhythms. We also address specific aspects of sleep loss and sleep disorders in women. Finally, very recent studies on the sociology of sleep are summarized and future directions in the field are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dzaja
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arber
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hislop
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kerkhofs
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pollmächer
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Polo-Kantola
authors.forename: Debra J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Skene
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stenuit
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tobler
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Porkka-Heiskanen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004967:Estrogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008598:Menstruation / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens