Actigraphic and self-reported sleep quality in women: associations with ovarian hormones and mood

Abstract

BackgroundSleep and mood disturbances in women have often been linked to the menstrual cycle, implying an ovarian hormonal causation. However, most studies in this area have used self-reported menstrual cycle phase rather than direct measurement of ovarian hormone concentrations. Further, many studies have focused primarily on peri- and postmenopausal populations reporting clinical sleep difficulty. In this study, we examined the associations among sleep quality, mood, and ovarian hormone concentration in a random sample of community-dwelling, nonclinical women of reproductive age. MethodsOur sample consisted of 19 non-help-seeking women aged 18–43 years, each contributing an average of 39.5 nights of data. Over the 42 days of the study, we collected self-reported and actigraphic sleep-quality data, concentrations of urinary estrogen and progesterone metabolites (estrone-3-glucuronide (E1G) and pregnanediol-3-glucuronide [PdG], respectively), and daily mood ratings. Linear-mixed models were used to estimate associations, clustering longitudinal observations by the participant. ResultsWe found a significant positive association between Sleep Efficiency and E1G, and a significant negative association between Sleep Efficiency and PdG. Otherwise, the self-reported and actigraphic sleep measures were not associated with ovarian hormone concentrations. Self-reported sleep was strongly associated with mood, whereas actigraphic sleep was associated with only two of the 11 individual mood items, “Feeling on Top of Things” and “Difficulty Coping.” ConclusionsIn this community sample of women of reproductive age, ovarian hormones play little, if any, role in day-to-day sleep quality. Our findings additionally highlight the different associations that self-reported and actigraphic sleep show with hormones and mood.