Peaceful nights sleep in Menopause

peaceful nights sleep in menopause

Melatonin

Levels

Due to the hormonal changes in menopause, our main sleep hormone, melatonin, is impacted.

This affects the hypothalamus, which causes temperature dysregulation and overheating.

Low iron
Low Vitamin D
High Cortisol
Overexposure to Artificial Light Exposure
Eating too little and over training: ie overstressing your nervous system
Poor Gut Health and Microbiome
Overuse of Caffeine
Unmanaged Stress
Irregular sleep patterns

So, what can we do?

1. Reduce cortisol levels in the evening

Keep stress levels low and the body calm in the evening. Ensure you have a good wind down routine in the evening and avoid activities that can spike cortisol ie looking at work emails before bed/scrolling

2. Avoid eating TOO close to your bedtime

During menopause, gut digestion slows, hence eating less volume of food at night reduces insulin load. Studies show high insulin disturbs melatonin production

3. Manage overall stress/anxiety levels

As estrogen levels decrease during menopause our body naturally produces more cortisol meaning women become less stress resilient and its very easy to exist in that “fight or flight” mode.

Ensuring you have solid consistent tools to reduce and manage stress levels will help reduce cortisol levels and help aid sleep quality

4. Eat more anti inflammatory foods

The American Heart Association found that women following a more anti inflammatory diet during menopause had a better overall sleep efficiency – we also see this as being a key difference in reducing night sweats

5. Have a plant based protein source at night.

If you struggle with Night Sweats, switching up your evening protein source from animal based to plant based can aid reduction.

Note ensuring you are consuming enough Vit E (15mg) and Omega 3 (430 mg) type foods, consuming min 25g fiber a day and having a diet featuring heavily of anti inflammatory diets is more effective overall – For our clients, we ensure those elements are in place first then IF the individual is still struggling with night sweats we will swap the evening protein source

6. A good night’s sleep starts in the morning.

Morning light exposure is important to reset the circadian clock.

Melatonin should be high at night and low in the morning. Light in the eyes in the morning has the single most influence on re-setting the circadian clock.