Turtle data
Half of women in perimenopause or menopause typically sleep under 7 hours
Key findings
52% of women in perimenopause or menopause tracking sleep with Turtle typically slept under 7 hours (January to October 2026), against 38% of women under 45. At ages 45 to 54 the share was 59%. Source: Turtle Method member data, turtlemethod.com/data/perimenopause-sleep/.
of women in perimenopause or menopause typically sleep under 7 hours
Women in perimenopause or menopause were more likely to sleep under seven hours. Among women tracking sleep with Turtle in 2026, 52% of those who told us they're in perimenopause or menopause typically slept under seven hours a night, against 38% of women under 45. For women aged 45 to 54 in perimenopause or menopause it was 59%.
Share of women whose median tracked sleep was under 7 hours, by life stage, Jan to Oct 2026
Source: Turtle Method member data · CC BY 4.0
About 11 minutes less a night
The typical night was 6 h 58 min for women in perimenopause or menopause and 7 h 09 min for women under 45. That's a small gap on an average night, but it means more women dropping below seven hours.
| Life stage | Typical night | Under 7 hours | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women under 45 | 7 h 09 min | 38% | more than 250 |
| Women 45+ (no perimenopause or menopause reported) | 7 h 00 min | 50% | more than 50 |
| Perimenopause or menopause | 6 h 58 min | 52% | more than 100 |
Screens before bed are normal in every group
In the morning diary, women in perimenopause or menopause said they used a phone or watched TV before sleep on 71% of their nights, and women under 45 on 76%. So screens don't explain the gap in our data.
What the research says
In 12,603 US women aged 40 to 55, 38% reported difficulty sleeping, rising to about 45% in late perimenopause.
Kravitz HM, Ganz PA, Bromberger J, et al. (2003). Sleep difficulty in women at midlife: a community survey of sleep and the menopausal transition. Menopause. doi.org/10.1097/00042192-200310010-00005
Sleep experts agreed that adults should regularly sleep seven or more hours a night.
Watson NF, Badr MS, Belenky G, et al. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: a joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep. doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
Questions people ask
Does perimenopause affect sleep?
Sleep problems are common in the menopause transition. In Turtle's data, 52% of women in perimenopause or menopause typically slept under 7 hours, against 38% of women under 45. This is a pattern, not proof of cause.
How much sleep do women in perimenopause get?
The typical night was 6 h 58 min for women in perimenopause or menopause tracking sleep with Turtle, and 7 h 09 min for women under 45.
Method
Sleep synced from Apple Health or Google Health Connect, 1 January to 6 October 2026, for women with 14 or more active days in the app and 7 or more nights of sleep (3 to 15 hours). Each woman's typical night is her median. Life stage is what women told us when they joined. Women only, staff accounts excluded; every group shown has 50 or more women and sizes are rounded. This shows a pattern, not a cause. Full methodology.
Cite this
Free to use with credit and a link to the source page. The figures and chart on this page are licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Journalists: for another cut of the data (aggregates only, same rules), contact scott@turtlemethod.com. More data on the Turtle data hub.
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