RELATION BETWEEN SLEEP QUALITY AND SEXUAL SATISFACTION AMONG EMPLOYED WOMEN DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD TO MENOPAUSE:A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Sleep quality affects physical, sexual, and mental health, especially during middle age. This study aimed to determine the relationship between sleep quality and sexual satisfaction among employed women during the transitional period to menopause.

A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 150 working women at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences between November and December 2022. The participants were selected by random cluster sampling. Demographic information form, the Petersburg Sleep Quality Questionnaire (PSQI), and the Larson Sexual Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSSQ) were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods in SPSS V.23. A significance level of p < 0.05 was considered for all statistical analyses.

The results showed that the majority of participants had undesirable sleep quality and moderate sexual satisfaction. The mean total sexual satisfaction score has no significant relationship with undesirable sleep quality. However, among the dimensions of sexual satisfaction, only the desire to have a sexual relationship had a significant inverse relationship with poor sleep quality (p=0.038; r=- 0.17).

Based on these findings, except for the desire to have sex, other dimensions of sexual satisfaction, such as sexual quality, sexual compatibility, and sexual attitude, were not related to their undesirable sleep quality. Therefore, by teaching techniques to increase sexual desire, it is possible to improve the quality of sleeping in women going through perimenopause.