Restless Legs Syndrome Explained

Poor sleep during perimenopause and menopause isn't just exhausting—it's linked to increased cardiovascular disease risk, depression, anxiety, weight gain, cognitive decline, and reduced quality of life. Yet for decades, women's sleep complaints have been minimized, dismissed, or blamed on just getting older.

In this episode, Dr. Mary Claire Haver sits down with board-certified sleep medicine specialist Dr. Andrea Matsumura to unpack what's really happening to women's sleep during the menopause transition and what we can actually do about it. Dr. Matsumura completed her medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and her internal medicine residency in Portland, Oregon before returning to Oregon Health & Science University for a fellowship in sleep medicine, where she discovered the critical connection between women's hormones and sleep disorders.

Guest links:

• Dr. Andrea Matsumura (Instagram)

• Dr. Andrea Matsumura (Facebook)

• Dr. Andrea Matsumura (LinkedIn)

• Dr. Andrea Matsumura 

• The D.R.E.A.M. Sleep Method: A Midlife Woman’s Guide to Restoring Rest

Articles

• Worldwide estimation of restless legs syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence in the general adult population (Journal of Sleep Research)

• Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies (Medicina)

• Why sleep apnea deserves priority in public health: a call to action (European Journal of Public Health)

• Poor Quality Control of Over-the-Counter Melatonin: What They Say Is Often Not What You Get (Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine)

• Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US (JAMA)

• Sleep disorders impact hormonal regulation: unravelling the relationship among sleep disorders, hormones and metabolic diseases (Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome)

• Comorbid Insomnia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (COMISA): Current Concepts of Patient Management (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health)

• Chronobiological perspectives: Association between meal timing and sleep quality (PLOS One)

• Effects of red light on sleep inertia (Nature and Science of Sleep)

Other Resources

• Seven or more hours of sleep per night: A health necessity for adults (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

• American Academy of Sleep Medicine

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