Why Sleep Becomes an Issue during Peri-menopause
If you are over 35 and you are struggling with sleep, it’s official, you are in peri-menopause!
Peri-menopause is the time period before menopause, (any time after 35, everyone is different) where your hormone levels start to shift and change. Hormones are chemical messengers that coordinate different functions in your body like your metabolism, your sleep and your menstrual cycles to name a few. Several glands, organs and tissues make and release hormones, and this is what we refer to as your endocrine system.
2. Temperature Changes
Hot flushes or sweats at night time frequently trigger awakening during the night, and often women will struggle getting back to sleep or find themselves changing clothes in the night! I’m sure you are wondering if you can change this and know that you can! If your gut, liver and digestion are all at their best, you may not notice as many hot flashes!
My top 4 tips:
I Stay cool with breathable clothing and bedding to help reduce or stop hot flashes.
Change your relationship with Stress
Limit the following foods: spicy foods, caffeine, chocolate, soy, and alcohol. Perhaps keep a journal to find out what may make your hot flashes worse, and work to avoid those triggers whenever possible.
Increase liver loving foods like bitter foods + raw cruciferous veggies and work on gut health!
Get tested to see what your hormones are doing! You can set up a free Strategy Call to figure out the right one for you.
3. Increased Mood Symptoms
Women commonly experience heightened anxiety and low mood. as Progesterone levels starts to drop. This is often the first hormone that starts to shift and is important for keeping you cool, calm and collected. Low progesterone may cause irregular or absent menstrual cycles, mood changes (particularly anxiety or depression), hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and headaches or migraines in women who aren't pregnant. If you go to your Dr. about this, you will likely walk away with a script for anti-depressants or anti-anxiety meds. Just know that this isn’t fixing the problem. I’m not against them but I don’t believe you need to jump to this solution before you dig deeper. I’m a fan of the Dutch Hormone test first…to address gaps and then target supplementation. There is a lot you can do to support progesterone levels. Or a natural bio-identical can also be a good choice. I can help you in my Discover Your Balance Coaching should you decide to dig deeper.
4. Stress
Women over 35 can often experience more stress and worry based on this phase of life for a number of reasons. This stress can also lead to issues with sleeping due to the impact of cortisol, also a hormone and how it connects to all of the other hormones doing their thing in your body. When one is out of balance, the entire body won’t feel balanced. Remember the symphony example? All musicians (hormones) need to be on ‘key’ for the song (body) to sound perfect. So reframing stress and or how your body responds to it is key. (that’s another blog).
More on this in my video below!