Menopause and Insomnia? Here's How To Cope

Often Insomnia may be due to menopause. Unfortunately a main symptom of menopause is insomnia. The important dilemma is, what triggers this? What is the relationship between menopause and insomnia, and is there something that you can do? Quite a lot of women find they practically never used to have problems getting to sleep until they reached menopause. Menopause itself is simply the name given to the cessation of a female's reproductive process and occurs naturally when females attain middle age. It can have devastating effects on a woman's hormones which are inclined to fluctuate wildly, which leads to many of the unpleasant symptoms, among them sleep issues.



Menopausal insomnia basically makes it hard for a woman to get to sleep, or even once they do get to sleep they may find themselves waking up several times throughout the night. The frequent waking may be caused by hot flashes that many women experience. These can increase our body temperature, making us feel hot and causing us to throw off our bedclothes. As soon as the hot flash subsides, we become cold causing us to wake up yet again.



Another reason menopause can cause insomnia is the fact it is a stressful time for a woman, thus keeping them awake as they find it hard to relax and simply switch off. Anxiety, which causes us to worry, keeps us from falling asleep and may sometimes have no obvious cause. Both stress and anxiety can be helped by exercising daily, especially in the morning which is when we set up our circadian rhythms to promote restful sleep that night.



Another psychological side effect of menopause is depression, which can be associated with waking up too early in the mornings.



If your sleeping patterns have changed dramatically and you have reached the age of 45 - 60 you can be pretty sure it is menopause insomnia.



How to deal with menopause and insomnia



Although the symptoms of menopausal insomnia and classic insomnia are almost identical, it is actually the menopause causing the problems you are having with your sleep. Therefore taking a good natural herbal or homeopathic remedy for the menopause, having a good diet, exercising enough and contolling your stress levels will go a long way to improving the quality of your sleep. If you have tried everything suggested and are still experiencing insomnia, then a sleep aid may be a last resort.



However if doing all of this does not seem to make much difference at all, you can look into a natural menopause insomnia remedy. It is best to avoid unnatural sleep aids, as these will usually leave you feeling tired throughout the day and you could even become dependent on them.





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If perhaps you're an older woman who's wondering why you are having a tough time sleeping, there may very well be a very simple answer. Visit me on Menopause and Insomnia to get more detailed specifics and ways to overcome this troublesome complaint. Wendy Owen (HH Dip) is a holistic health therapist and sleep researcher with an all-embracing understanding involving herbal and homeopathic cures.