The transition into menopause is considered perimenopausal. Each year, millions of women go through this transition smoothly, but there are exceptions who do not. In the article, Sleep Quality, Depressive Symptoms, and Altered Stress Reactivity in Perimenopausal Women, it is hypothesized that altered stress reactivity may partially mediate the relationship between sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms in perimenopausal women. In order to test the hypothesis, 101 perimenopausal women, ranging from ages 45-55 years of age, were recruited through newspapers, magazines, and health clinics across North Carolina. This study was a sub-analysis of the Perimenopausal Estrogen Replacement Therapy (PERT) study. Due to the PERT study, there were
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In order to find the sample size mean, and standard deviation of the results, descriptive statistics were used. “Relationships among depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance, and neuroendocrine measures were examined based on evaluative criteria recommended by Baron and Kenny’s (1986) steps for mediation. First, the independent variable must affect the mediator. Second, the independent variable must be shown to affect the dependent variable. Third, the mediator must affect the dependent variable”(). If these conditions hold true, then the effect of sleep disturbance on depressive symptoms, must be less when adjusting for the stress hormones. Instead of saying the results are the results just because, a critical thinker would look into how they became the results. In this case, the result were split into three relationships. Poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms showed no significant relationship; nor did alertness or hours of sleep with depressive symptoms. In the relationship between poor sleep quality and altered stress reactivity, daytime sleepiness and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) reactivity were associated, alertness complaints and norepinephrine (NEpi) reactivity were related, but there were no significant relationships between sleep complaints and cortisol, ACTH, or NEpi reactivity, excessive sleepiness and cortisol, ACTH, or NEpi reactivity, or hours of sleep to cortisol ACTH, or NEpi reactivity and depressive
In order to find the sample size mean, and standard deviation of the results, descriptive statistics were used. “Relationships among depressive symptoms, sleep disturbance, and neuroendocrine measures were examined based on evaluative criteria recommended by Baron and Kenny’s (1986) steps for mediation. First, the independent variable must affect the mediator. Second, the independent variable must be shown to affect the dependent variable. Third, the mediator must affect the dependent variable”(). If these conditions hold true, then the effect of sleep disturbance on depressive symptoms, must be less when adjusting for the stress hormones. Instead of saying the results are the results just because, a critical thinker would look into how they became the results. In this case, the result were split into three relationships. Poor sleep quality and depressive symptoms showed no significant relationship; nor did alertness or hours of sleep with depressive symptoms. In the relationship between poor sleep quality and altered stress reactivity, daytime sleepiness and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) reactivity were associated, alertness complaints and norepinephrine (NEpi) reactivity were related, but there were no significant relationships between sleep complaints and cortisol, ACTH, or NEpi reactivity, excessive sleepiness and cortisol, ACTH, or NEpi reactivity, or hours of sleep to cortisol ACTH, or NEpi reactivity and depressive