We know that women's hormones increase and decrease over a four-week cycle. What scientists are discovering is that those changes impact sleep and memory. "Our periods are the culprit not only in disrupting us from getting a good night's sleep, but the long-term effects of the waxing and waning of sex hormones could be putting women at higher risk of memory-related disorders like Alzheimer's," says Sara Mednick, cognitive scientist at the University of California, Irvine. "Various forms of dementia hit twice as many women than men aged 75 and older."

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