No More Sleepless Nights in Perimenopause
No More Sleepless Nights in Perimenopause - an Open Label, Randomized, Parallel-group, Active Controlled Intervention Study in Perimenopausal Women With Vasomotor Symptoms and Insomnia to Investigate the Efficacy of Hormone Replacement Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern
54 participants
Jan 1, 2026
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The goal of the clinical trial is to learn if Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-I) can treat insomnia in menopausal women. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Are HRT and CBT-I effective in reducing insomnia in menopausal women? * Are HRT and CBT-I comparable in terms of reducing insomnia severity in this population? Researchers will compare HRT and CBT-I to an active control group, receiving sleep hygiene instructions. Participants will: * Complete a screening and baseline assessment * Receive Hormone Replacement Therapy (as prescribed), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (1/week), or sleep hygiene instructions (1/week) for 8 weeks. * Keep a daily diary (sleep e-diary), to assess sleep-quality. * Wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) during 6 nights (3 at baseline \& 3 post-intervention), to assess deep sleep cycles and waking episodes. * Receive a phone call for intervention compliance * Complete a post-intervention assessment.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria5
- Late menopausal transition according to Stages of Reproductive Aging criteria (STRAW+10)
- Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score > 5
- Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score > 7
- Somato-vegetative domain of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS)-II ≥ 4 points
- Willingness to use HRT for menopausal symptom reliefs
Exclusion Criteria14
- Other sleep-wake disorders according to DSM-5, assessed with validated questionnaires (Sleep-Health Questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS))
- Untreated hormonal disorder
- Obesity (BMI ≥ 30)
- Current psychotherapy
- Current psychopharmacological therapy including regular sleep medication
- History of unsuccessful CBT-I
- Psychiatric illness
- Substance abuse (≥ 7 cigarettes/day, no more than 2 standard WHO drinks per day, other drugs)
- Shift work
- Long-haul flights across different time zones in the past 3 months
- Pregnancy and lactation
- Contraindications to HRT according to drug information (https://www.swissmedicinfo.ch/)
- Inability to follow procedures or insufficient knowledge of project language
- Inability to give consent
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Interventions
CBT-I is conducted in an individual setting according to the manual used in McCurry (1). Factors at the level of behavior, cognitions, and physiology that perpetuate sleep onset and sleep maintenance disorders are addressed. In addition, psychoeducation on sleep and sleep hygiene, stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation, structured worry time, cognitive restructuring, and relapse prevention are part of the training. Each session will include homework.
Standard-dose continuously-combined bio-identical HRT containing transdermal estradiol 1.5 mg/d (= 2 strokes of Oestrogel® Dispenser) and oral micronized progesterone (= 1 capsule of Utrogestan® 200). This combination is the most popular HRT regimen, as it has a neutral effect on lipids, glucose, haemostasis. Participants will receive a conventional prescription for the 2 products that are covered by all health insurances in Switzerland.
Sleep hygiene refers to healthy sleep habits, e.g. food and drink choices, a regular sleep schedule, evening routine. Although being widely used in daily practice, sleep hygiene shows no significant effect as monotherapy in patients with an established insomnia. The sleep hygiene condition in this study is matched to CBT-I in frequency and intensity of contact.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
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NCT06497894