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Women are twice as likely to have insomnia than men, due mainly to the physical and hormonal changes, anxiety, and greater exposure to iron deficiency. Here are some recent findings are discussed these days in the XXI Annual Meeting of the Spanish Society of Sleep (SEC) held in Burgos.

"While insomnia is the most common disorder among the general population in women is twice the prevalence than men," says Francisco Campos, member of the SEC. These differences also are accentuated by age: insomnia affects approximately 35 percent of premenopausal women, and this amount rises to about 50 percent after menopause. During this stage, hormonal changes that result in physical changes, physiological and psychological. All this can lead to disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea. An additional problem is that the diagnosis of these conditions can sometimes be difficult because "for social reasons, women may be reluctant to inform or consult some typical symptoms of certain disorders such as snoring," says Campos. However, it is important to see a doctor because the treatment of sleep apnea reduces cardiovascular disease risk associated with these disorders.
Insomnia in Pregnancy

Another period in the lives of women in which sleep disturbances are accentuated is pregnancy. These changes occur especially in the third trimester of pregnancy in which the physical and hormonal changes are larger, more frequent awakenings and increased estrogen reduces the duration of REM sleep. In addition, there may be other symptoms such as snoring or restless legs syndrome, which is an uncontrollable urge to move and walk when you are resting. However, "although it seems that sleep quality remains impaired in the immediate postpartum period, probably due to hormonal changes and concern for the newborn, sleep quality is restored during the year after childbirth," said Campos.