Women who have surgery to remove their ovaries go through menopause abruptly and this comes with an increased risk for sleep troubles, a new Korean study finds.

These sleep issues are bigger that the ones many women experience when they go through menopause gradually.

In the current study, women who underwent surgical menopause were more than twice as likely to experience insomnia and reported lower quality sleep compared with women who went through natural menopause, Reuters reported.

With surgical menopause, women reported more difficulty with falling asleep and staying asleep, and more nighttime awakenings, researchers report in Menopause journal.

Women who had surgery were also more likely to have habits that can contribute to sleep troubles, such as drinking coffee, eating large meals at night or napping during the day.

Normal menopause and its symptoms

Menopause is a difficult transition for many women, both psychologically and physically, and is often not well-discussed in psychiatric or medical settings,” said senior study author Sooyeon Suh of Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul.

Women typically go through menopause between ages 45 and 55. As the ovaries curb production of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, women can experience symptoms ranging from vaginal dryness to mood swings, joint pain and insomnia.

Women who have their ovaries surgically removed, however, are thrust into menopause virtually overnight.

More difficulty falling asleep

The study included 429 women who went through menopause naturally and another 97 women who had menopause induced by surgery. All were from Korea and were in their 50s and 60s.

About 8 percent of women with surgical menopause and 4 percent of women with natural menopause used hormone therapy to ease symptoms.

The study can’t prove whether or how surgical menopause has a different impact on sleep than natural menopause. Even so, it makes sense that a sudden loss of all hormone production with surgical removal of the ovaries would produce more pronounced symptoms than natural menopause.