More than any other issue, I think I'm asked about sleep during the menopause far more than any other. It is so common to have disturbed and un-refreshing sleep from the peri- menopause right through the menopausal years and beyond.
Disturbed sleep can lead to tiredness, short temper, foggy thinking and it can hugely impact on general mood. It can be an exhausting roller coaster to navigate the day with work, immediate and wider family demands.
The temptation is to reach for instant energy boosts - sugary snacks and coffee - sugar gives an immediate energy boost and then a slump, coffee drunk later in the day will disturb sleep.
What I often see (and have done myself!) is that if you wake still feeling tired, then a cycle develops where mornings are rushed, breakfast is skipped or an inadequate bit of toast is munched before heading out to work. Coffee follows coffee. Lunch is eaten on the run. Coffee and more coffee. Energy slump. Sugary snack - a biscuit or three. Energy up, and then by 3.30 to 4pm it has really dropped. Mood is affected, concentration levels plummet, productivity dwindles and then back home at 6. Snack again because you're hungry, nibble as you cook. Eat too late and too much. Go to bed and don't sleep. Wake tired. Repeat.
These are habits we create over years, what you can get away with at 25 you really can't at 45 and the cumulative effects on the mind and body really start to show during the menopausal years.
During menopause, preparing for a good night's sleep actually begins when you wake up. The decisions that you make and actions that you take from the moment you open your eyes will affect what happens that night. It's about creating good sleep hygiene, creating habits that prioritise yourself rather than subjugating your needs to fit in with everyone else.
At menopause the oestrogen/progesterone levels produced by the body gradually decline, this directly affects sleep. As progesterone declines, which is linked to GABA, the neurotransmitters that create a calming and sedative effect, sleep is adversely affected. Feelings of anxiety can creep in, it becomes harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, leading to unrefreshing sleep patterns.
Oestrogen is linked to serotonin which is a precursor to melatonin. It is melatonin that acts on the body to create the conditions for restful sleep, it cools the body and turns off a busy mind.
On top of this the circadian cycle is affected. As we age the circadian rhythm that controls sleep and wakefulness over a 24 hour period becomes weaker, meaning that women often lose their normal wake/sleep cycle. This can lead to wakeful nights and sleepy days.
Small changes can be significant. It's not about changing your whole way of being, it's definitely not about calorie counting or endless hours in the gym. It's actually about what and when you eat and drink, how you move and good sleep hygiene.
First and foremost when you wake up, drink water then go downstairs and eat breakfast. It is such an important start to the day. Hydrate and then feed your body with good quality protein. Make yourself a priority - I can't emphasise this enough. If you don't prioritise yourself, nobody else will. Think of it as future proofing yourself.
Stop and eat proper lunch. My colleague Caroline sets an alarm on her watch for 12.45 - it beeps, she stops. Brilliant. She always has a tupperware or flask prepared, often the leftovers of the dinner from the night before. It's a simple strategy, cook a little more than you need, put it in a container and your lunch is ready.
Eat dinner early - eating late puts a pressure on digestion and disturbs sleep. If you can eat by 7.30 it will really make a difference. The general rule is eat like an emperor at breakfast, a king at lunch and a pauper at dinner and try to have as much colour on your plate as you can. Herbs and spices count too so being adventurous not only makes for delicious food but it also makes you well.
There are some really simple foods that give your body what it needs to work well during the day and rest at night, to replace to some extent the losses that hormonal changes are making.
Karen Newby, an excellent menopause nutritionist has comprehensively covered how to eat the raw materials that feed sleep. It also applies equally beyond menopause - these are foods for life.
The raw material that makes melatonin is tryptophan - it's plentiful in our Ritual Cacao, the beauty of the Cacao is that it is so minimally processed and full of the tryptophan rich cocoa butter, it also contains phenylethylamine which increases dopamine secretion giving you a lovely feel good boost and Magnesium to calm the fight or flight response which is often rampant during menopause.
Other tryptophan rich foods are chicken, lentils, oats and bitter cherries so if you can weave those into your diet you are really helping yourself.
Magnesium is really important too, responsible for over 300 enzyme reactions it stabilises energy and mood, balances blood sugar helping to prevent those disastrous, snack craving dips. Magnesium rich foods are leafy greens, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and avocado - all are so easy to slip into a meal.
Glycine is an amino acid that has been shown to help both with bone health and sleep in menopausal women, it has an oestrogen like action in the body, so not suitable for women who have had oestrogen dominant breast cancer. It supports GABA aiding relaxation and restful sleep. Glycine rich foods include meat, tofu, tempeh and lentils.
Finally there are all the herbal teas which can be drunk through the day and into the evening, our Wildflower Tea with Roses and Chamomile is especially soothing and calming including red Clover, Sage and Milky Oat Tops to support the symptoms of menopause.
Beyond regular, healthy eating and hydration, creating a sleep ritual that slowly winds you down to sleep is incredibly useful. We often had these as babies and children but over time, we lose them. Finding them again is really good.
It's for this reason that we created the Serene Sleep Ritual, I really wanted to make something more than a cream to apply (although it works well by itself) so that it helped to establish a really comforting routine before bed. I know for myself that there have been times in the past when I have literally dreaded going to bed, anticipating another horrible night ahead. I think if I had made myself a ritual then it would have made a huge difference.
Our Serene Sleep Ritual starts with a Ritual Sleep Cacao for that blast of sleep inducing tryptophan and magnesium, then the Serene Sleep Soak with a different form of magnesium and essential oils to calm and relax and finally the Serene Sleep Cream into which I put everything I could think of to ease you into sleep and help you to stay asleep. I chose magnesium, Hops, Chamomile and essential oils which have traditionally invited sleep and finally a set of Homeopathic remedies that soothe, relax and calm both mind and body. It is a real powerhouse of product.
Other things that help are regular exercise - not the pounding of a gym but a walk, a stroll, a gentle amble through a park, in a woodland, around rather than up a hill, even round the block makes a difference. 30 minutes of T'ai chi slowly and deliberately, yoga or gentle stretching helps. There is something about the rhythm of movement that heals and calms, it give the lymph movement and quietly supports the functioning of the body.
Equally staying off screens before sleep, establishing a regular bedtime - heading to bed at 10pm aiming to be asleep by 11pm. Using products to cleanse, hydrate and moisturise that make you feel good and enhance your mood.
I think menopause is such a brilliant opportunity to invest in yourself, probably for the first time in decades. I'd urge you to seize it with both hands because it makes you feel great and it prepares you to enjoy the next decades of your life in the best possible health.
1 comment