• Ian G Campbell, Joyce T Bromberger, Daniel J Buysse, Martica H Hall, Kimberly A Hardin, Howard M Kravitz, Karen A Matthews, Marianne O'Neill Rasor, Jessica Utts, and Ellen Gold.
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis 95618, USA. igcampbell@ucdavis.edu
• Sleep. 2011 Nov 1;34(11):1561-8.

Study ObjectivesWomen report increasing sleep difficulties during menopause, but polysomnographic measures do not detect sleep disturbances. We examined whether two spectral analysis sleep measures, delta and beta power, were related to menopausal status.DesignThe Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Sleep Study compared cross-sectionally spectral sleep measures in women in different stages of menopause.SettingSleep EEG was recorded in the participants' homes with ambulatory recorders.ParticipantsA multi-ethnic cohort of premenopausal and early perimenopausal (n = 189), late perimenopausal (n = 73), and postmenopausal (n = 59) women.MeasurementsEEG power in the delta and beta frequency bands was calculated for all night NREM and all night REM sleep. Physical, medical, psychological, and socioeconomic data were collected from questionnaires and diaries.ResultsBeta EEG power in NREM and REM sleep in late perimenopausal and postmenopausal women exceeded that in pre- and early perimenopausal women. Neither all night delta power nor the trend in delta power across the night differed by menopausal status. In a multivariate model that controlled for the physical, demographic, behavioral, psychological, and health-related changes that accompany menopause, beta power in both NREM and REM sleep EEG was significantly related to menopausal status. The frequency of hot flashes explained part but not all of the relation of beta power to menopausal status.ConclusionsElevated beta EEG power in late perimenopausal and postmenopausal women provides an objective measure of disturbed sleep quality in these women. Elevated beta EEG activity suggests that arousal level during sleep is higher in these women.

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