The Basics of Sleep Tips For Women Going Through Perimenopause
ByMaybe you’ve never had a night sweat but still suffer from sleep disturbances, (That was true in my case.) These sleep tips can make a big difference in the quality of your nights and days:
- It may sound obvious, but lowering your overall caffeine intake is a starting step toward more restful nights. If you must have caffeine, make sure you don’t have any late in the day, in fact, noon is a good cutoff point. After all, if your hormones are changing the way you produce the brain chemicals that help you sleep, you don’t need caffeine in the mix to keep you even more wide awake.
- Make a list of all medications, prescription and over-the-counter, including vitamins and herbs, that you are taking. In some people, insomnia can be a side effect of certain medications. For example, some allergy medications are high in caffeine. Also, vitamin I6 can interrupt sleep that’s why I always suggest taking it before noon. Talk with your health care provider or with a knowledgeable pharmacist about all the medications you are taking, to be sure that none of them (alone or as part of an interaction with another substance) is keeping you awake.
- One of the many payoffs of regular exercise is better sleep. Exercising late in the day, though, can make you feel so wired that you can’t fall asleep. If that’s true for you, build your exercise into the early part of your day, you’ll still reap the sleep benefit Exercise causes the body to produce endorphins and produces an overall feeling of well-being. One of the residual effects of these endorphins appears to be sounder sleep.
- Along with your body, your mind also needs to be prepared for sleep. That means taking at least a few minutes to wind down before bedtime. Too often, we try to wring every last minute out of the day, working right up until we collapse into bed. But going to bed abruptly after finishing the last task or chore of the day will mean that your mind keeps going full tilt. Reading, drinking a cup of herb tea, listening to quiet music or a relaxation tape, or taking a warm bath or shower can help relax you before bed.
- Is your bedroom the at-home equivalent of a noisy hotel room near the elevator or ice machine? Look around your bedroom and see what you can do to make it more comfortable and restful. I know some women who pile their nightstands with unfinished business: bills, lists, work-related documents, and reports. They even keep their laptop computer next to their bed. My recommendation is to keep those types of things in another part of the house. Even if you don’t have an office or den, keep your “paper trail” on the kitchen or dining room table, or earmark a spot on a closet shelf. Use your bedroom only to rest, and avoid the temptation to make it an office.
- If outside light or noise gets into your room, think about installing heavier curtains or blinds that close more tightly. Some women object to wearing an eye mask or earplugs, if that’s true for you, a portable cassette player with a tape of “white noise” may help lull you to sleep. And I recommend that you look at your bed. Are you sleeping on the same mattress you bought back in the 1970s? Maybe it’s time for a new mattress and pillow.
Do yourself the favor of reviewing your sleep habits: your sleep environment, when you go to bed and get up, and what you do, eat, and drink before going to sleep (or before lying awake, if this is the case for you). This is a simple way to start smoothing out edgy, cranky, or depressed days. Sleep won’t be an antidote for everything, of course, but if you do clean up what sleep researchers call “sleep hygiene” (your sleep habits) and you’re still sleeping poorly, it is a signal that you may need something more.
What might that “something more” be? It may be as simple as taking your calcium supplement (preferably calcium citrate, which is best absorbed) at bedtime. Along with its bone-strengthening properties, calcium seems to have the added benefit of helping women sleep more soundly.
Several herbal preparations may also help you sleep:
- Extract of valerian root acts as a mild sedative (160 mg taken at bedtime).
- Kava, a member of the pepper family, can also enhance sleep. The active ingredient in kava is kavalactones. If you choose to take kava, read the label carefully and select a brand that provides a dose of 180 to 210 mg daily of kavalactones. This amount is recommended to achieve kava’s sedative effects; the preparation is used in smaller amounts (45 to 70 mg daily) to control anxiety.
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