“considering the Paucity of Knowledge about Sleep in Women, It Is concerning That We Found Such a Low Proportion of Papers in This

“CONSIDERING THE PAUCITY OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SLEEP IN WOMEN, IT IS CONCERNING THAT WE FOUND SUCH A LOW PROPORTION OF PAPERS IN THIS area, and no indication of increased research about issues of sleep in women.” This was the conclusion derived from a literature review by Driver and colleagues at the end of the last century.1 The first 5 years of this century have seen an impressive increase in the interest in sex/gendera differences in sleep regulation. In the December issue of the SLEEP, 2 new research papers,2,3 both written by Dr. Latta and her colleagues from Dr. Van Cauter’s laboratory at the University of Chicago, focus on some of the differences in the sleep of older women and men. The papers demonstrate how a comparison of sleep of women and men leads to basic questions about the most commonly used tools to quantify sleep, as well as the interactions between the endocrine and sleep-regulatory system.