For women, sleep quality affects mood.

• Position: Bipolar Disorder

Poor sleep is associated with negative moods in women with bipolar disorder, relate researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Hershey, and the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.

Bipolar disorder is a brain malady that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. The condition is marked by extreme mood episodes characterized as manic (highs), depressive (lows), or mixed. Sleep problems are common in people with bipolar disorder, and the two appear to exacerbate each other. Previous research shows that poor sleep quality is a symptom of depressive and manic episodes, and that lack of sleep can trigger mania.

"Patients with bipolar disorder often suffer with sleep problems, even when many of their other symptoms are well-controlled," explains Erika Saunders, chair of the Department of Psychiatry. "Improving their sleep could not only better their quality of life, but help them avoid mood episodes."

Finding the best treatments for sleep disorders in bipolar people meant Investigating differences between women and men with the condition. 'Women and men sleep differently. We know from studies of the general population that women have a different type of sleep architecture than men, and they're at different risks for sleep disorders, particularly during the reproductive years."

Women and men also experience bipolar disorder...