Article: Sleep; Lately, I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping no matter how tired I am. Is there a connection between menopause and insomnia?(Cover story)

Byline: Pat Wingert and Barbara Kantrowitz

Both age and menopause are conspiring to rob you of the sleep you need. Although you once enjoyed a solid eight hours a night, you may be so exhausted now that you would happily settle for a meager five or six. Well, that dream is still possible, but increasingly difficult as you get older. Here's why. Sleep can be divided into two phases: rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep. You alternate four or five times a night between these phases. The non-REM phase is divided into four stages, progressing from light to deep sleep. This pattern is called sleep architecture, and it changes over time. As you get older, you spend ...

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