Housework as a Sleep Aid During the Menopausal Transition?

Nonrestorative sleep, often linked with vasomotor symptoms (VMS), is a common complaint of women during the menopausal transition (NEJM JW Women's Health Aug 9 2012). In a subanalysis of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), researchers evaluated the impact of leisure and nonleisure physical activity on sleep in 52 women with VMS (52% white; mean age, 58; mean body-mass index, 30 kg/m²). Participants completed physical activity surveys (sports/exercise, household/caregiving during the past 12 months) and sleep diaries (two 48-hour periods, for which they also rated the quality of the previous night's sleep). Wrist-monitored actigraphy provided objective measurements of sleep patterns; other monitors were used to record physi…