Have you always been a good sleeper? Never had to worry about lying awake and waiting for sleep to overtake you. But suddenly, you may find yourself in perimenopause and suddenly nothing seems the same. Sleep seems like a luxury you used to have and you are tired and restless, and let’s not even mention the word bitchy. There is an enhanced state our brains experience during perimenopause. Our thought patterns change and if we pay attention, we will find that the areas that need support and change in our lives will be greatly awakened.
The similarities we go through are often similar to stages we would normally go through at adolescence. We may seem like we don’t require as much rest, we can’t seem to get to sleep, or we may be able to sleep, but when we awaken we don’t feel rested. In addition to considering the issues with sleep patterns that change, then we need to be aware that this entire sleepless state will increase our stress hormones which in turn will actively turn off our hormonal levels and allow them to be out of balance. Also immune systems suffer as well. Studies show that up to 40% of all women suffer from sleep issues.
Sleep allows us to restore physical and mental energy. That is why it’s so important. A huge finding is that lab animals put under the same experiments with sleep as women would likely go through have died from sleep deprivation. Being sleep starved allows our concentration to be off, we are not as efficient, we are not keyed up to do as much work, we are more accident-prone. Sometimes insomnia is also a marker for something going on in our lives that we not want to face or find too difficult to handle. Midlife itself can allow a wealth of changes for us to think about and wonder how we will ever survive it and be “normal” again.
The following are some tips you may want to try to improve your sleep patterns.
1. Hot flashes and night sweats are a big sleep interrupter. Try to keep anxiety to a minimum as to not get yourself worked up. Talk to your doctor about natural progesterone, estrogen replacements, and herbal remedies
2.Watch your diet. You have heard that going to bed on a full stomach is not a good idea. Lying down will cause gastric reflux, or heartburn.
3. Don’t let the tape in your head play over and over. Quit stewing over the day’s problems.
4. Deal with worries. Try to put worries to bed when you go to bed. Give them over to the man upstairs. Allow yourself to think that the following morning will help you to find a solution.
5. Make sure your sleeping on a good mattress. Lumps and bumps will not allow you to have a restful sleep.
6. See your doctor about his feeling on prescription medications for sleep and take sparingly if he prescribes them.
7. Research natural remedies, but again natural does not mean safe automatically. Get an informed opinion when buying natural sleep remedies.
REFERENCE–The Wisdom Of Menopause–Christiane Northrup, M.D. 2001
