Good quality sleep is key to our health and wellbeing. It is arguably the most important of all the health pillars. Unfortunately for women, our sleep is vulnerable at times of hormonal fluctuations, and this includes menopause.
40-60% of women experience sleep disruption during the menopause transition. This is due to a variety of reasons including oestrogen loss, progesterone loss, hot flushes and night sweats, mood changes, needing to pass urine through the night, anxiety, and ageing.
A lack of sleep – for example 4-5 hours a night instead of 7-8 hours – can have a negative impact on how your brain functions. It can cause brain fog and memory difficulties, and it can impact immunity, metabolic health and increase your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease.
Poor sleep can also impact your mental health which is often vulnerable during the menopause transition anyway. In fact, women with poor sleep during menopause are two to three times more likely to experience depression.
Good sleep hygiene can be very helpful during this transition. Simple things you can do include:
- Keeping the bedroom cool, dark, comfortable, and quiet.
- Keeping a regular daily sleep/wake cycle, including on weekends
- Getting early morning light/ getting outdoors early.
- Limiting light before bed eg. TV/screens/phones
- Dimming the lighting in the evening.
- Avoiding eating close to bedtime and keeping blood glucose levels steady.
- Limiting caffeine to mornings only.
- Avoiding alcohol.
- Exercising in the morning if possible, or doing gentle yin yoga at night
- HRT has been found to improve sleep quality as well as improve symptoms that can disrupt sleep. Body identical progesterone acts as a sedative and has hypnotic effects.
- Cognitive Behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can be very effective for menopausal insomnia. It can help to improve sleep, depressive symptoms and emotional health, daytime function, quality of life and work performance. This can be done online or in person, as well as 1:1 or in groups – whatever works for you.
Several of our menopause doctors specialise in sleep disruption. In addition, Dr Rebecca Smithson sees patients for Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and sleep deprivation therapy to treat sleep disorders.
