Insomnia Menopause: Sleep Like a Teenager

Perimenopausal women, not unlike teenagers, need a lot of sleep. Insomnia menopause can be a real problem. We need more restorative shut-eye than men of the same age. Why? Our bodies and our emotions are going through enormous changes at midlife.

Insomnia menopause leads to all kinds of emotional and physical problems. Insufficient shut-eye increases our levels of stress hormones, and if it becomes chronic, it can throw off our hormonal balance and depress our immune system which can lead to all kinds of illnesses.

Insomnia menopause leads to:

• Daytime drowsiness
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Decreased concentration
• Decreased motivation
• Higher rates of error in judgment
• Illness
• Temporary memory problems

Your Internal Biological Clock

Everyone has a unique biological clock. We get our most restful sleep when we adhere to it. For some people they need to go to bed early and wake up early, for others they feel better when they go to bed late and wake up late. It doesn’t matter how your clock is set, what does matter is that you listen to it. Ideally, we should all have seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep.

If you’re in midlife (which I assume you are if you’re reading this) then you have heard by now all about proper sleep hygiene-afterall, you weren’t born yesterday. However, are you really following all the helpful tips you’ve read about? For me, this list is a good reminder.

How to deal with insomnia-menopause

• Avoid caffeine. Everyone’s tolerance for this is different so you really need to find out how much and how late you can drink it. My husband can drink an espresso before he goes to bed and still sleep, whereas I can’t drink any caffeine past noon.
• Avoid alcohol. This may be surprising for some people. Alcohol may relax you and make you want to sleep initially, but it will wake you up later in the night because of its rebound effect.
• Exercise during the day, several times a week. Try not to exercise right before going to bed because it can wake you up.
• Deal with your night sweats. I have listed ways to control your night sweats in my article. The link is provided below.
• Kiss the darkness. Close the blinds/curtains, turn your alarm clock, and anything else that’s flashing, away from you.
• Make love not war.
• Sleep ritual. Do the same thing every day prior to going to bed so your body knows subconsciously that it’s time for shut-eye. Wash your face and brush your teeth earlier so that you don’t awaken yourself with these routines. Besides, brushing your teeth early will also discourage you from having a fattening bedtime snack.
• Write your anxieties down. Keep a journal beside your bed and write down all those ruminating and irritating thoughts that might keep you awake. I personally don’t do this one because if I start writing, I can’t stop. Again, use the techniques that work for you; you may need to experiment a little.

If you have chronic insomnia then you may want to consider some herbs that I have outlined in this article.

You can’t look like a teenager (really, who wants to?) but you should sleep like one.

End Your Sleep Deprivation - Dr. Dement, the father of sleep medicine, and the students of Stanford Sleep and Dreams share their knowledge so you can sleep healthily and live alertly. Empower yourself by learning about the mechanisms that govern your sleep to live life at your highest potential.

To read about the other Signs of Menopause click here

Go from Insomnia Menopause to Night Sweats and How to Treat Them.

To read about Menopause Fatigue click here

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