Menopause & Insomnia
There is nothing quite like getting a night of good restorative sleep, is there? But for an incredible amount of women, this becomes a huge problem during menopause. Insomnia is one of the most common symptoms during all stages of menopause.
Insomnia. Why is our sleep disturbed?
During perimenopause, a woman’s estrogen and progesterone levels start to decline. This causes various symptoms to occur. Estrogen contributes to a better quality of sleep, with progesterone acting as a ‘sleep promoting’ hormone. Have you ever noticed pregnant women, and how well they sleep? They have higher levels of progesterone circulating throughout their bodies which can make them feel sleepy during the day. If you have had children, you might remember those days. Think of progesterone as a calming hormone, contributing to a sense of relaxation and peace. During any stage of menopause, and with fluctuating and declining levels of hormones, it makes sense that you might be experiencing problems with sleep, for example, insomnia, anxiety, and wakefulness.
There are many other contributory factors to insomnia during menopause, see the following:
- Vasomotor symptoms – hot flushes/flashes and night sweats during menopause occur at night, typically when a woman is trying to sleep though they do happen during the day.
- Anxiety, stress, and low mood can all contribute.
- Pressures of family and everyday life – Being part of that ‘sandwich generation’, with teenage children, and elderly parents becoming increasingly demanding, all plays a role.
- In this day and age, we all lead such busy lives. Packed social calendars, as well as frenetic work schedules, there are seemingly more and more demands on our time. Sometimes you just have to make a conscious decision to switch off and genuinely try and relax!
- Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is one of those unbelievably annoying symptoms. It is an irresistible urge to move your legs, having such a negative effect on anyone’s sleep. It can usually be relieved by activity, so getting up and walking about can help. RLS is known to follow a circadian pattern (the 24-hour natural process that regulates our sleep-wake cycle) with many women experiencing these symptoms throughout the evening, often with the worse symptoms during the night. We have heard that eating a banana daily can help with RLS.
What can you do when insomnia hits during menopause?
First and foremost is good sleep hygiene; what does that actually mean? Do everything you practically can to help yourself get a good night’s sleep during menopause.
- Lifestyle choices – make sure you eat a healthy diet. That you are well hydrated, and try and get some exercise during the day.
- Watch those alcohol and caffeine levels throughout the day, both are well known for contributing to sleep problems.
- Make sure you don’t have any technical stimulus in your bedroom. This is not an extension of your office! Try and leave your phone and laptop downstairs. Your bedroom should be associated only with sleep, and possibly even sex! More blogs on that subject another time!
- Try to ensure your bedroom is dark and cool.
- Look at making subtle changes to your bedtime routine. Perhaps factor in having a bath before bedtime, this can really help you to relax. Read a book or do something which is just slightly different from your usual routine.
- If you have problems falling to sleep, don’t lie in bed fretting about it. The classic advice is to get up if you haven’t managed to get to sleep after 20 mins, leave the bedroom, go and do something which doesn’t involve any technical stimulus for 15 mins or so. Then go back to bed and try again. Keep repeating this and gradually your body will hopefully slip into a different pattern.
- Perhaps you find you are getting up during the night because of urinary or vaginal problems then make sure you address those problems, as it will help enormously. Likewise with hot flushes/flashes, and night sweats.
- What you wear in bed can make a massive difference – think about natural fibers. There are several companies that make fabulous nightwear (as well as daywear) using natural fibers which wick the moisture away from your body. Anything to help with those night sweats is worth investing in, or just sleep ‘au naturale’ and don’t worry about your partner or husband having to sleep in subzero temperatures, you can always buy them some thermals!
- Do you and your partner/husband struggle with needing different temperatures in bed, with one throwing the duvet off, and the other reaching for more layers? A good idea could be to have separate duvets of differing weights, so you’re more comfortable. This would be the first step, and if this does not help, talk about making a separate sleep room for you. You must discuss this together and reassure your partner that it is only for sleep reasons and that you still love him/her.
What else can help insomnia during menopause?
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help some women. HRT can replace estrogen and often progesterone too. So not only are you helping with those vasomotor symptoms but progesterone can help with insomnia as well. The way you take the progesterone part of HRT can make a difference. With oral progesterone seemingly having a better effect on insomnia symptoms than taking it via a different route.
- Relaxation therapy or paced/diaphragmatic breathing can really help. It not only helps switch off your brain, easing hot flushes/flashes and night sweats. It also helps with anxiety and stress; calming and slowing the pace of breathing down, and giving you something to focus on rather than being stressed about not getting some sleep.
- Something to consider – the blue light emitted from our LED screens contributes to insomnia and eye strain. The ideal scenario would be to switch off all electronic devices an hour before you go to bed. I realise for most of us that is highly unlikely! A good idea is to switch on the filter on your smartphones and laptops that helps to reduce the intensity – just go into your settings.
Never underestimate the advantages for your body of getting a good night’s sleep. Not only does it obviously make you as a person feel better, but long term it has an impact on mental health, cardiovascular health, and even bone health. To learn more about sleep and menopause, see our Menopause Experts Training.
‘As with any information created by Menopause Experts Group, the information in this post is accurate at time of posting and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to replace or substitute the judgment of any medical professional you may come in contact with. You should always seek advice from your health care professional regarding a medical condition’
