Insomnia Disorder: Gender Issues Over the Lifespan.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing existing empirical literature without systematic search or meta-analytic pooling.
PubMed 40461101 · doi:10.1111/jsr.70110
What was done
This narrative review synthesized existing empirical literature regarding gender differences in sleep physiology, insomnia prevalence, clinical characteristics, and predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating factors across the lifespan. The authors also reviewed available data on sleep disturbances and insomnia symptoms among transgender individuals.
What was found
The abstract provides no numerical data, prevalence estimates, or effect sizes. It qualitatively describes insomnia prevalence as higher in women than men, with pronounced differences emerging during puberty (post-menarche), pregnancy and the postpartum period, and the menopausal transition (associated with hot flashes, mood changes, and physiological alterations). Literature regarding sexual and gender minority groups was noted to be scarce.
Why it matters
Identifying life stages where biological, hormonal, and psychosocial factors interact to increase insomnia risk can help target clinical monitoring and guide personalized therapeutic approaches.
Limits
The review relies on narrative synthesis rather than systematic review or meta-analytic methodology, leaving it vulnerable to selection bias. The abstract presents no quantitative data, and the underlying literature for specific populations (such as transgender individuals) remains limited.