Insomnia Common Among Middle-Aged and Older Women

Asahi Shimbun Morning Edition, October 24, 1998

An increasing number of people are visiting psychiatric clinics saying, “I can’t sleep,” with some even specifying the brand of sleeping pills they want. One in four Japanese people reportedly suffers from insomnia.

Rising with the sun and sleeping when it sets—modern society no longer allows for such a natural lifestyle. Work and leisure eat away at sleep time as if it were wasteful.

Insomnia is overwhelmingly common among middle-aged and older women. They have trouble falling asleep, wake up multiple times during the night, and never feel rested. They don’t feel sleepy during the day, and their daily lives aren’t particularly disrupted, but the fear of not being able to sleep haunts them. Though it could be called constitutional insomnia, in many cases, the real cause lies in underlying dissatisfaction or emotional distress.

Even with every possible measure in place—special pillows and comforters for sound sleep, the scent of lavender, and Mozart playing softly—sometimes sleep just won’t come.

The film Speechless (1994) begins with a man and a woman, both unable to sleep, fighting over the last box of sleeping pills in a drugstore. They turn out to be speechwriters for rival U.S. Senate campaigns. Glamorous Geena Davis and surprisingly earnest Michael Keaton find themselves more and more sleepless as their feelings deepen, but once their love is fulfilled, they can finally sleep soundly. It's a romantic comedy.

However, the most common cause of insomnia is physical illness, such as pain or itching. Next come psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Pure sleep disorders—cases where people “just can’t sleep”—are less common. When insomnia persists for years, some people suffer so greatly that they even contemplate suicide.

Sleeplessness activates the sympathetic nervous system. Stress leads to insomnia, and insomnia causes more stress—a vicious cycle of sleeplessness and anxiety. The real challenge is how to break that cycle.

Exposure to natural light during the day, eating regularly, and tiring oneself moderately through exercise are all important. Textbooks on sleep science even advise that the bed should be used only for sleep and sex.