Good night's sleep boosts sex life for women over 50: Insomnia symptoms are linked to decreased libido in post-menopause
- Women over 50 who suffer from insomnia less likely to be satisfied with sex
- Those who get more than seven hours' sleep are more likely to have good sex on
- Study confirms an association between shorter sleep duration, higher insomnia symptoms and decreased sexual function in post-menopausal women
Getting your beauty sleep not only leaves you refreshed, it can also boost your sex life, research shows.
Women over 50 who suffer from insomnia are less likely to be satisfied with their physical relationships, a study found.
But those who get more than seven hours' sleep are more likely to have good sex on a regular basis.
The study confirms an association between shorter sleep duration, higher insomnia symptoms and decreased sexual function in post-menopausal women.
Women over 50 who suffer from insomnia are less likely to be satisfied with their physical relationships, a study found
Researchers say sleep disturbance is common for many women during menopause, creating an array of health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and depression.
The study, published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), show that sleep problems can also interfere with a woman's level of sexual satisfaction.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School, the University of California Los Angeles and the Mayo Clinic in Arizona studied 93,668 women aged 50 to 79 enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study.
Of those who had fewer than seven hours of sleep a night, only half reported having sex with their partner within the last year.
And only 56 per cent of those said they were satisfied with their sexual activity.
Women who had six hours of sleep a night were 9 per cent less likely to be sexually active, and those who had five hours a night were 17 per cent less likely.
Researchers say sleep disturbance is common for many women during menopause, creating an array of health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure and depression
Those who slept nine or more hours each night were 20 per cent more likely to be sexually satisfied. Those over 70 who slept fewer than five hours were 30 per cent less likely to be sexually active than women the same age sleeping seven to eight hours.
The relationship between sleep and sexual satisfaction remained even after adjusting for other possible causes of sleep deprivation, including depression and chronic disease.
And researchers found that if women took hormone replacement therapy, the impact of lack of sleep on sexual activity seemed to disappear, suggesting this could be a useful treatment.
Dr JoAnn Pinkerton, NAMS executive director, said: 'Women and healthcare providers need to recognise the link between menopause symptoms and inadequate sleep, and their effects on sexual satisfaction.
'There are effective treatment options to help with sleep disruption and sexual satisfaction, including hormone therapy, which this study confirmed to be effective at menopause for symptomatic women.'
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