Contact: David Von Behren, (520) 626-7301

Feb. 21, 1996

A sleep study at The University of Arizona College of Medicine may put to rest unanswered questions about women and insomnia. Sleep researchers already know that women complain more frequently of insomnia and take more sleep medications than men.

UA researchers say the reasons men and women are affected differently by insomnia are not fully understood, but that insomnia in women may be related to menstrual cycles.

Study results could help researchers unlock valuable clues to insomnia in women. The most recent Gallop Poll regarding sleep shows dramatic differences between insomniacs and those able to get a good night's sleep. Insomniacs frequently report trouble remembering things, difficulty accomplishing tasks, and being involved in vehicle accidents in which fatigue was a factor.

Rachel Manber, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at the UA College of Medicine, plans to study 40 women with insomnia between the ages of 18 and 45. Study participants must be healthy and regularly menstruating (menstrual cycle length ranging between 26 and 33 days in the past six months). Women taking oral contraceptives or planning to conceive during the study period are not suitable for the research. Women with a current diagnosis of psychiatric, neurological, gynecological or endocrinological disorders, or a sleep problem other than primary insomnia, also are not eligible.

Women chosen for the study will be asked to keep a daily diary for two months to record information on their sleep patterns and moods. Participants also will be asked to wear wrist activity monitors nightly for two weeks.

At the end of the study, the women will be offered brief behavioral therapy for insomnia.

Women interested in the sleep study should contact the UA Department of Psychiatry, (520) 626-6650.

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