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Sleep affects your mental and physical health. Getting good sleep helps boost your mind and mood and can help prevent health problems. Women are more likely than men to have insomnia and other sleep problems.1 Changing hormones during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can affect how well a woman sleeps. But there are steps you can take to get the rest you need.
Your mind and body are healthier when you sleep well. Your body needs time every day to rest and heal. Some sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome, make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep. This can lead to daytime sleepiness and make it more difficult to stay in good mental health.
Having a sleep problem can also trigger a mental health condition or make current mental health conditions worse. Also, mental health conditions or treatments can sometimes cause sleep problems.
Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night to feel refreshed, although women who are pregnant may need more and older adults may average less.2
Sleep problems that affect women more or differently from men include:
Women may be more likely to have sleep problems because women experience hormonal changes during certain times and events that are unique to women. These include:
Talk to your doctor if:
To determine whether your sleep problems are caused by a sleep disorder or another mental or physical health problem, your doctor will ask you questions about your medical and sleep history. Sometimes it can take several visits to a doctor to figure out the cause of your sleep problems.
Your doctor or nurse may:
Yes, but talk to your doctor or nurse about your sleep problems before using an OTC product. Your sleep problem may be a symptom of a different medical problem that needs to be treated. Also, OTC products are not meant for regular or long-term use. If you decide to use a sleep medicine, doctors recommend that you:
Try these tips to help improve your sleep:
Having a baby can make it a challenge to get enough sleep. It can take babies weeks or months to adjust to a sleeping routine or to start sleeping through the night. Also, changing hormone levels after giving birth can disrupt your sleep for a time. For some women, severe swings in hormone levels during and after pregnancy may cause a mental health condition called postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can also cause trouble sleeping.
If you have a new baby, here are some ways to get more rest or get help:
If you continue to have trouble sleeping, or if you think you are depressed, talk to your doctor, nurse, or midwife.
For more information on sleep and your health, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out these resources from the following organizations:
Enter a city, ZIP code (such as 20002), address, state, or place
Embed this widget on your web site
To receive Mental Health email updates
The Office on Women's Health is grateful for the medical review in 2017 by:
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Danielle Johnson, M.D., FAPA, Psychiatrist, Medical Staff President, Chief of Adult Psychiatry, Director, Women’s Mental Health Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati
Cassidy Gutner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine; National Center for PTSD, Women’s Health Sciences Division, VA Boston Healthcare System, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Mark A. Lumley, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Clinical Psychology Training, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, and his Stress and Health Laboratory team: Jennifer Carty, Heather Doherty, Hannah Holmes, Nancy Lockhart, and Sheri Pegram
Mark Chavez, Ph.D., Chief, Eating Disorders Research Program, NIMH
Kamryn T. Eddy, Ph.D., and Jennifer J. Thomas, Ph.D., Associate Professors of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Co-Directors of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital
Kendra Becker, M.S., Clinical Fellow in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital
Michael Kozak, Ph.D., Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development, NIMH
Alicia Kaplan, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Temple University School of Medicine and Drexel University College of Medicine, and Staff Psychiatrist, Division of Adult Services, Department of Psychiatry, Allegheny Health Network, Allegheny General Hospital
All material contained on these pages are free of copyright restrictions and may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission of the Office on Women’s Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Citation of the source is appreciated.
Page last updated: March 14, 2019.
Sleep affects your mental and physical health. Getting good sleep helps boost your mind and mood and can help prevent health problems. Women are more likely than men to have insomnia and other sleep problems.1 Changing hormones during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can affect how well a woman sleeps. But there are steps you can take to get the rest you need.
Your mind and body are healthier when you sleep well. Your body needs time every day to rest and heal. Some sleep disorders, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome, make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep. This can lead to daytime sleepiness and make it more difficult to stay in good mental health.
Having a sleep problem can also trigger a mental health condition or make current mental health conditions worse. Also, mental health conditions or treatments can sometimes cause sleep problems.
Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep a night to feel refreshed, although women who are pregnant may need more and older adults may average less.2
Sleep problems that affect women more or differently from men include:
Women may be more likely to have sleep problems because women experience hormonal changes during certain times and events that are unique to women. These include:
Talk to your doctor if:
To determine whether your sleep problems are caused by a sleep disorder or another mental or physical health problem, your doctor will ask you questions about your medical and sleep history. Sometimes it can take several visits to a doctor to figure out the cause of your sleep problems.
Your doctor or nurse may:
Yes, but talk to your doctor or nurse about your sleep problems before using an OTC product. Your sleep problem may be a symptom of a different medical problem that needs to be treated. Also, OTC products are not meant for regular or long-term use. If you decide to use a sleep medicine, doctors recommend that you:
Try these tips to help improve your sleep:
Having a baby can make it a challenge to get enough sleep. It can take babies weeks or months to adjust to a sleeping routine or to start sleeping through the night. Also, changing hormone levels after giving birth can disrupt your sleep for a time. For some women, severe swings in hormone levels during and after pregnancy may cause a mental health condition called postpartum depression. Postpartum depression can also cause trouble sleeping.
If you have a new baby, here are some ways to get more rest or get help:
If you continue to have trouble sleeping, or if you think you are depressed, talk to your doctor, nurse, or midwife.
For more information on sleep and your health, call the OWH Helpline at 1-800-994-9662 or check out these resources from the following organizations:
This content is provided by the Office on Women's Health.
A federal government website managed by the Office on Women's Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20201
1-800-994-9662 • Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET (closed on federal holidays).