|  | Family Health | Womens Health

Menopause & Insomnia

Insomnia may be one of the symptoms that you experience as you go through perimenopausal and segue into full menopause. This is attributable, in part, to fluctuating hormones. If a woman is having night sweats, caused by hormonal imbalance, this will wake her, after which she will hastily start tossing off blankets and disrobing in her desperate quest to cool off. If she continues to lie in a sweat-soaked bed and in sweat-soaked sleepwear, she will then start freezing and chilling, which will wake her up again. This is disruptive, to say the least.

  1. Middle-Age and Its Problems

    • Menopause occurs in middle age, or post-middle age, for most women. In addition to going through "the change," which can be a challenge for some, women may also be experiencing other physical maladies that prevent them from sleeping, according to organizedwisdom.com (See References 1.)

    Physical Conditions

    • If you are suffering chronic pain from arthritis or back problems, this isn't going to lend itself to a good night's sleep. Furthermore, if you are anxious, stressed and/or depressed, it's going to be difficult for you to relax and get into that recuperative deep sleep state that we all need. Medical conditions that are linked to insomnia include overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes, lung disease, cancer, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, in addition to arthritis.

    Urinating

    • Many menopausal women find that they have to urinate a lot. This will require getting up several times during the night

    Medication

    • If you are taking medication for specific maladies, this may prevent you from sleeping soundly. Ask your physician if your medicine could be keeping you awake at night.

    Inactivity

    • Menopausal women are inclined to reduce their physical activity. You may not be as social as you once were. In addition, you may be napping during the day. Inactivity and daytime napping are not going to help you sleep well at night.

    Sleep Patterns Change

    • Sleep patterns change for most people as they age. Older people tend to spend more time in transitional sleep, which is the first stage of sleep, and in light sleep, which is stage two. Both of these sleeps stages are NREM or non-rapid eye movement stages of sleep, according to menopausehotflashrelief.com (See References 2.)

    Not Enough Deep Sleep

    • Deep sleep, called delta sleep, comes in stages 3 and 4. When we are in deep sleep, it is very beneficial to us. The fifth stage is call REM or rapid eye movement sleep. During REM sleep we dream. Because older people sleep less deeply and don't get into delta or REM sleep as much as they once did, they tend to wake up earlier and get fatigued early in the day.

      Wdxcyber.com (See References 3) explains that estrogen levels, which do diminish during perimenopause and menopause, have an effect on our ability to sleep well. It has been documented that women who are experiencing declining levels of estrogen have far more sleep disturbances and disruptions than do younger women. Women, who take ERT (estrogen replacement therapy) or HRT (estrogen plus progestin replacement therapy) reportedly sleep better than menopausal women who don't undergo this type of treatment. However, there are risks associated with taking hormone replacement so seriously consider these risks before opting for this treatment.

Womens Health - Related Articles