Clicky

16 Natural Solutions for Sleep Deprivation During Menopause

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure for more info.

Experiencing sleep deprivation in menopause? You’re not alone!

I’m very much dependent on my sleep. When I started having sleep problems, it had a big impact on my life. I became moody and a “not-so-loving” wife.

Night sweats were one of the reasons for my sleep troubles. Today, I sometimes wake up sweating, but I solve it with a simple tip. I will tell you later! 😉

A good night’s rest can do wonders for your mind and body. But as we age, we tend to sleep less. Many women in menopause feel tired and drained from energy because of sleep deprivation.

If you’re having sleep problems, find out what’s causing this symptom. We also got great health tips to help you get quality, uninterrupted sleep. Be sure to read on!

16 Natural Solutions to Sleep Deprivation in Menopause

16 Natural Ways to Solve Sleep Deprivation and Feel Rested!

Your body needs all the support it can get during menopause. Get a restful sleep by trying some of our top natural sleep remedies!

1. Look at your day!

Are you stressed? Do you have emotional burdens? What did you have for dinner? Did you get enough sunshine? Did you exercise?

Our lifestyle affects sleep. Know where your sleep deprivation is coming from!

2. Quiet your mind.

Is your mind overactive as you go to bed? It is time to stop these whirling thoughts! Relax by doing deep breathing a few stretches or meditation!

3. Eliminate sleep-depriving triggers!

Quit sugar, dairy and gluten. Take your last cup of coffee before 3 pm and limit your alcohol intake. Wine is a go-to for many women. It’s our way of unwinding, others make it their “sleep elixir”. It will make you fall asleep, but you will still wake up in the early hours.

4. Change your diet!

Eat a lot of leafy greens, cruciferous veggies and fruits. They are rich in vitamins and minerals and have high amounts of fiber. Fiber helps you stay full longer. Get more healthy proteins from seafood, oily fish, shellfish, nuts and seeds. Balance your hormones with superfoods and herbs such as Ashwagandha, Black Cohosh, Shatavari and St. John’s. Don’t eat a big meal late at night! A healthy diet can balance your hormones,

Dr. Berg says celery, cheese, green peppers, apple cider, molasses and 7 to 10 cups of salad a day make you sleep. Learn how in his video [3:31]:

5. Take sleep-inducing supplements.

These include Gingko Biloba, Valerian Root, Magnesium, Theanine and Lavender. They stimulate the production of your sleep hormone, melatonin.

6. Exercise daily!

When your body is in motion, it helps flush out toxins, excess cortisol and sugar which might be depriving you of sleep. Go outside every day, get some sunshine! You can do simple walks and jogs, go swimming or if you’re not new to exercise, you can do strength training and HIIT. These exercises boost your energy but give you restful sleep!

7. Practice mind-body calming activities.

Yoga, Meditation, Qigong, Pilates, Reiki and Tai chi are just example of these practices. They keep your body in motion while calming your brain. You can even do simple yoga and meditation at night to fall asleep!

8. Stick to a sleep routine!

Regulate your body clock by making a schedule. Sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Well, you can make an exception for the weekends, but not too much. Avoid afternoon naps! Visualize how your routine will look like. Start with a dry brush to keep your lymph flowing. Next, massage with a nice oil to calm tensed muscles, a warm bath or shower, journaling to leave thoughts behind and so on. Wind down 2 hours before sleep.

9. Improve your bedroom environment.

Make your bedroom a place for sleep and sex only! Minimize noise, make it clean, open your windows for fresh air and keep your room cool. Choose breathable and comfortable pillows, linens and blankets.

10. No blue light or gadgets inside your room.

Avoid watching TV and using your cellphone. They emit blue light, which affects sleep.

11. Increase air quality and oxygen in your room!

It sounds weird, but this is true, and NASA can prove it. Putting plants like devil’s ivy, snake plant and peace lily can make a big difference in your sleep! These plants improve air quality and increase oxygen, helping you sleep well. Dr. Berg talks about how you can improve air quality in this video [1:06]:

12. Do alternative therapies!

Scented candles are out; essential oils are in! Chamomile, lavender, peppermint, frankincense and ylang-ylang are great for sleep. Listen to soothing music. Classical songs and nature sounds can help you fall asleep quickly. These types of songs are like lullabies to your brain.

13. Try the Mantram.

This is a practice of repeating the same syllables, words or phrases. It is said to help your consciousness and combat negative thoughts. You can read more about this in Dr. Weil’s article.

14. Go to another room.

If you’ve been lying awake in your bedroom for quite a time. It’s time to go to another room and do something! You can read a good book or relax.

15. Try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

CBT doesn’t involve any medications. It’s a therapy that exposes you to negative triggers until such time that you can adapt to them. This therapy has been proven to treat insomnia.

16. Try tapping!

Tapping, or the emotional freedom technique (EFT), is a relief method to calm your body and mind. It helps reduce pain, sleep problems, emotional burdens and many others. The Tapping Solution says you can do tapping in five easy ways. You can learn more about it from their website.

Life strategist and EFT practitioner Sally Thibault has interesting videos about tapping! I love this tapping video for beginners because it’s easy to follow [3:56]:

If you want to get more health tips, Dr. Mark Hyman has top natural sleep remedies. You can watch the video here [5:34]:

13 Reasons Why You Need to Sleep Well During Menopause!

Sleep is a power booster. More than just being a part of our daily routine, it’s a protective and life-sustaining activity. It gives you time to recover for the next day ahead.
With all the stress and changes during menopause, we need to sleep more than ever. It has a big impact on our menopause journey!

Here are 13 health benefits of sleep in menopause!

1. Sleep is a magic bullet for hormone health!

Hormone regulation takes place while you’re sleeping soundly at night. Your ovaries, adrenal glands and other organs work together to balance estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Sleep also regulates your hunger and satiety hormones, leptin and ghrelin.

2. Sleep makes you sleep!

Quite confusing? When you sleep, your body produces ample amounts of the sleep hormone, melatonin.

3. Sleep reduces stress.

When you sleep, you lower the stress hormone cortisol in your body. Cortisol can mess up your hormone balance really bad. It also slows down your body functions which can worsen your symptoms in menopause.

4. Sleep reduces hot flashes and night sweats!

Night sweats is one of the main culprits for sleep deprivation in menopause. When you’re well-rested, you reduce stress and anxiety – two common triggers for night sweats. The body’s primary temperature regulator, the hypothalamus also recharges. No sweat-soaked nights mean better sleep!

5. Sleep helps you maintain a healthy weight.

Sleep flushes out excess sugar in your body so they don’t get deposited into your butt, thighs and more. As I mentioned, leptin and ghrelin are also regulated. Leptin is your appetite-suppressing hormone, which helps you curb cravings. Ghrelin is your hunger hormone, which signals when to eat and when to stop.

6. Sleep lessens anxiety, depression and mood swings.

All these are common symptoms of menopause! But with quality sleep, you get to have more hormones like progesterone, serotonin, dopamine and the neurotransmitter endorphins. These compounds help you stay calm, relaxed and well-balanced. They also make you happier!

7. Sleep increases your pain tolerance.

You don’t get as many headaches or migraines, muscle or body pains if you sleep well every night!

8. Sleep helps you fight diseases without effort.

You rarely catch a cold if you have enough sleep and there’s a reason! Sleeping activates your immune cells and reduces inflammation inside the body. For this reason, you’re less susceptible to viruses and bacteria!

9. Sleep reduces the risk of many diseases.

During your sleep, your body metabolizes glucose, reduces inflammation, cleans up blood vessels and regenerates damaged cells. All these reduce the risk of diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and stroke.

10. Sleep slows down aging!

Do you know that sleeping can unleash two anti-aging hormones in your body? At night, DHEA and growth hormones are released. These two are highly potent in fighting stress, repairing damaged tissues and promoting regeneration!

11. Sleep promotes a longer life!

A study found more deaths in women aging 50 to 79 who only sleep less than five hours compared to those who get 6.5 hours or more each night.

12. Sleep makes you think faster!

Memory, learning, focus – name it, and sleep can take care of it. Quality sleep keeps blood circulation to your brain going, recharging brain cells and keeping your neurotransmitters functioning at their best!

13. Sleep fosters a positive mindset!

The brain reorganizes your memory during sleep, this will create more positive thoughts and foster emotional strength.

Dr. Berg released a video about sleep recently and it’s super interesting! He talks about what causes sleep deprivation and his top natural sleep remedies. Go watch it here [13:07]:

Why Do I Experience Sleep Deprivation in Menopause?

We go through a lot of changes in menopause which can disturb our sleep.

Estrogen and progesterone are our natural sleeping aids. When they go down in menopause, we experience trouble sleeping. Night sweats happen, keeping us awake at night. This is one symptom that many have even in postmenopause.

Some women also develop thyroid problems. This deprives us of sleep and makes us gain weight. Experts say overweight women tend to have more sleep problems. When we’re tired, we go for our comfort food and it becomes a cycle.

When we sleep less, the body tells us to slow down power consumption. Losing the extra pounds can become a challenge.

Our bladder also becomes weaker as we age. As a result, we have problems holding our pee, which wakes us up.

Besides all these physical changes, lifestyle is a top reason for sleep deprivation. The kind of food we eat, lack of exercise and stress can all affect our body.

Our fast-paced world and the pressures of life make us skip sleep. Our minds are overactive! Many can’t keep their hands off their gadgets. So many are glued to the TV because they might miss their favorite TV show. All these negatively stimulate our minds.

Midlife is also a demanding transition for most of us. We balance careers, raise children, serve as homemakers and care for our aging parents.
All these feed our stress and anxiety.

When we have chronic stress, it affects our liver. The liver has a big role when it comes to sleep. It regulates two hormones responsible for our sleep-wake cycle: cortisol and melatonin.

Before we wake up, our body releases cortisol to give us energy. As the day ends, our liver deactivates cortisol. Melatonin is released for sleep, and the cycle continues. But when we’re always stressed, cortisol shoots up. Our liver works extra hard to deactivate all the excess cortisol. Over time, the liver goes into exhaustion, and cortisol stays longer in your blood. This keeps you awake.

Take control of your health, check your hormones, vitamins and minerals and other nutrients today to get help!


Oh, and I had my secret TIP! Drum roll, please! 😀

To sleep better… I DON’T LOOK AT MY CLOCK!

Before, when I woke up a few times every night because of night sweats and bathroom visits, I would keep looking at the clock and got very stressed.

Today, I don’t do this anymore. I follow my tips above, plus this “no-looking-at-the-clock” policy. 😀
It’s simple but very effective.

Got More Discomforts You Want Solved?
GET HELP FROM OUR SYMPTOMS PAGE!

Need to Know Everything About Menopause?
OUR HOMEPAGE HAS EVERYTHING!


What do you do when you have trouble sleeping? Do you have secret “sleeping” tips that you want to reveal with us? Use the comment box below!

Let’s all get a good night’s sleep tonight, share this with everybody on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter!

Gita

Gita is the founder of My Menopause Journey. Since 2014, she has been supporting midlife women by sharing hard-earned learnings from her own experience. To advance her knowledge, Gita puts a lot of her time and effort into understanding the broad spectrum of women’s health. She immerses in extensive research about the physical, mental and emotional aspects of menopause. Gita believes in the life-changing power of healthy, holistic living — this is where she anchors her message to all women. Learn more about her marvelous mission in About us - My Menopause Journey.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER: All information in this blog and all linked materials are designed for informational purposes only. It should not be used to treat, diagnose or as direct advice for any medical condition.
Information in this blog is not a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. Always consult your physician or a qualified professional in matters of health.
I, the author of MyMenopauseJourney, will not accept or hold any responsibility for any reader’s actions.

DISCLOSURE: We are glad that we can provide the content of this blog for free. To do this, some links, but not all, are affiliate links, which means that we will receive a small referral commission when you buy from the link on our page.
You will never pay more when you buy through our links. I only recommend products that I have tried myself or have a firm belief in the product’s quality based on reports, research or positive user reviews.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Scroll to Top