Association of sleep disturbance and sexual function in postmenopausal women

Abstract

Objective Sleep disturbance and sexual dysfunction are common in menopause; however, the nature of their association is unclear. The present study aimed to determine whether sleep characteristics were associated with sexual activity and sexual satisfaction. Methods Sexual function in the last year and sleep characteristics (past 4 weeks) were assessed by self-report at baseline for 93,668 women age 50 to 79 years enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study (OS). Insomnia was measured using the validated WHI Insomnia Rating Scale (WHIIRS). Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) risk was assessed using questions adapted from the Berlin Questionnaire. Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined cross-sectional associations between sleep measures and two indicators of sexual function: partnered sexual activity and sexual satisfaction within the last year. Results Fifty-six percent overall reported being somewhat or very satisfied with their current sexual activity and 52% reported partnered sexual activity within the last year. Insomnia prevalence was 31%. After multivariable adjustment, higher insomnia scores were associated with lower odds of sexual satisfaction (yes/no) (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.96). Short sleep duration (< 7-8 hours) was associated with lower odds of partnered sexual activity (yes/no) (≤ 5 hours OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80-0.96) and less sexual satisfaction (≤ 5 hours OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.81-0.95). Conclusions Shorter sleep durations and higher insomnia scores were associated with decreased sexual function, even after adjustment for potential confounders, suggesting the importance of sufficient, high quality sleep for sexual function. Longitudinal investigation of sleep and its impact on sexual function post-menopause will clarify this relationship.

Prevalence and predictors of sexual function in midlife partnered Chinese women assessed by two simple indicators: Sexual frequency and sexual desire

“…Thus, we also evaluated the correlation with menopausal symptoms; however, we only found that sleep disorder was independently related with low sexual frequency in women with normal sexual desire not in low sexual desire. Some other studies have also found the relationship between sleep disturbances with sexual function in menopause we did not find the associations of sexual frequency with other menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes, depressive symptoms, bladder problem and urinary incontinence.…”

Qualidade do sono e funcionamento sexual em adultos saudáveis

“…Muitas investigações evidenciam que a qualidade do sono tem um grande impacto na vida quotidiana, existindo pouca informação no que concerne à sua influência no funcionamento sexual. Ainda assim, alguns estudos demonstraram que durações de sono mais curtas e níveis de insónia mais elevados estão associados a uma diminuição do funcionamento sexual 7 , mesmo após o ajuste para potenciais fatores de interferência, condicionando o desejo, a excitação, a lubrificação nas mulheres, o orgasmo e a satisfação sexual em geral 8,9 , ainda que esta interação não possa ser generalizada 10 .…”

Sleep quality, sleep duration and sexual health among older people: Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

“…Endocrine changes, particularly modulation of oestradiols and androgens levels post-menopause, have been shown to be associated with declines in libido and subjective arousal, via direct and indirect mechanisms (Andersen et al, 2011;Dennerstein et al, 2002;Schwenkhagen, 2007). Using data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study, Kling and colleagues observed robust cross-sectional associations between shorter sleep durations and higher insomnia scores and decreased partnered sexual activity and sexual satisfaction (Kling et al, 2017). Sleep problems have been reported to be most problematic among women during the menopausal transition and early post-menopause (Dennerstein et al, 2000;Kravitz et al, 2003;Kravitz et al, 2008;Woods and Mitchell, 2010).…”