title: Individual differences in self-reported difficulty sleeping across the menstrual cycle.
abstract: The effect of menstrual cycle phase on sleep has been studied for decades; however, individual differences in the associations between sleep and menstrual phase have not been well studied. In addition, the associations between changes in sleep and other physiological and psychological factors that vary as a function of menstrual phase have not been thoroughly assessed. This study explored individual differences in daily self-reports of difficulty sleeping across the menstrual cycle, as well as associations between daily changes in difficulty sleeping and psychological/vegetative and somatic symptoms. Participants (n = 213 females, mean age = 21.29 ± 4.01 years) completed daily online questionnaires assessing` sleep, psychological and physical symptoms for two menstrual cycles. Two patterns of menstrual cycle-related self-reported difficulty sleeping emerged in addition to women who showed no cyclical change in self-reported difficulty sleeping: a perimenstrual increase and a mid-cycle increase. All psychological/vegetative symptoms and some of the somatic symptoms showed significant associations with self-reported difficulty sleeping. These findings highlight the importance of examining individual differences in sleep across the menstrual cycle and the significant contribution of a wide range of menstrual cycle-related psychological/vegetative and somatic symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, E.P. Bradley Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 300 Duncan Drive, Providence, RI, 02906, USA. Eliza_van_Reen@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Reen
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia (DPSS), Università di Padova, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kiesner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008597:Menstrual Cycle; D057566:Self Report; D012892:Sleep Deprivation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Menstrual; Self-reported insomnia; Sleep; Young women