Can Taking A Nap Save Your Sex Life?

Following up on today's "Can taking a nap save your life?," new research links low female libido during menopause with poor quality sleep. The researchers believe "this marks the first time that sleep disturbance has been independently associated with diminished sexual desire during or after menopause."

There are many symptoms associated with menopause, including diminished libido, poor quality sleep, and moderate to severe depression*, according to University of Washington researcher Susan Reed and colleagues.

Reed hypothesizes that night sweats, a common symptom of the menopausal transition, can cause poor quality sleep, and the resulting tiredness reduces the desire for sex.

However, since the study only looked at a snapshot of a single point in time, rather than tracking the women before, during, and after menopause, determining the change from a "normal" libido may be problematic.

The researchers plan further work to figure out which factors are causes and which are effects.

Our advice: more naps. Good for your health, good for your sex life.

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* While 18% of the 341 participants reported moderate to severe depression, that's unexpectedly high. The U.S. Surgeon General says that "menopause does not appear to be associated with increased rates of depression in women ... menopause by itself is not a risk factor for depression." It's possible that the depression figure is higher than expected because the survey participants were selected to include only women who had night sweats or hot flashes. According to the National Institutes on Aging, about 30%-50% of menopausal women have hot flashes and night sweats, so the participants weren't a representative sample of the female population.

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Other links: Medpage Today

Our post on women and midlife depression