Are you having difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early? Did you know that these are hallmarks of perimenopause (the years leading up to menopause)? In fact, roughly 50% of perimenopausal women have insomnia or other sleep disturbances. After menopause, even more women struggle with sleep issues, which can profoundly affect their daytime functioning and health—both physical and mental.
But why do we have more sleep issues in midlife and beyond? And what can we do to sleep better, and, in turn, feel better?
Our speakers for this Menopause Talk are two of the world’s foremost experts on sleep. Dr. Daniel J. Buysse is known as one of the most impactful leaders in the area of sleep medicine and as the world’s leading expert on insomnia disorder. Dr. Fiona Baker, a strong advocate for research about sleep health in women, has researched and published extensively on women’s sleep issues, including during menopause.
Drs. Buysse and Baker will help us understand the kinds of sleep problems women have and what causes them. We will also learn how to manage these problems. The quality of our life and our longer-term health depend on it.
Bring your questions!
Dr. Fiona Baker, PHD, is the Director of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International, a non-profit research organization. She is also an Honorary Professorial Research Fellow in the Brain Function Research Group, School of Physiology, at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dr. Baker is a world expert on issues of sleep in women, with a focus on understanding the interplay between sleep and health throughout women’s lives. Her research has advanced an understanding of insomnia that develops during the menopausal transition, sex differences in sleep, and the relationships between sleep and other health issues.
Dr. Baker has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and has published more than 100 scientific papers, including on issues of sleep in women in the context of menstruation and menopause. She also is the Principal Investigator on multiple grants about sleep and brain function.
Dr. Daniel J Buysse, MD, is Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Clinical and Translational Science and the UPMC Endowed Chair in Sleep Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Dr. Buysse has published over 430 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 95 book chapters or review articles. His research focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, causes, and treatment of insomnia and other sleep disturbances. He has received research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (and other National Institutes) where he has served on many initial review groups and advisory committees.
Dr. Buysse is President Elect of the Sleep Research Society, Past President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and previous Associate Editor of the journals SLEEP, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, and Behavioral Sleep Medicine. A Pittsburgh “Top Doctor,” he also received a 2011 University of Pittsburgh Innovator Award.
