Sleeping Beauty or Sleep Deprived?

Menopause and Insomnia

Golden Divas, back in the day in my 20’s I could work all day long, party all night long and go to bed around 1 am and the minute my head hit the pillow I fell fast asleep, waking up well-rested and refresh mind you and ready to do it all over again. 

Now in my 50’s I have been counting sheep at night, it’s like I can’t turn my brain off when I lay down to go to bed. I start off so sleepy and then the minute my head hits the pillow I’m wide awake. I’m sure the phrase “STAY WOKE”….was NOT meant for me to take it literally, although my brain as of late doesn’t comprehend the validity of the term used to demonstrate the need for awareness of an issue such as “Black Lives Matter,” it only comprehends sleep disruption at its best and “Sleep Deprivation Matter” for this black woman!

This my Golden Divas is driving me crazy! I am looking at the clock and I can probably tell you every second of the minute of the hour waiting for the alarm to go off so I can officially get up and muddle through the day. Since menopause invaded my body for the past year it’s like I have been experiencing sleep deprivation. I use to go to bed, and I will get some good sleep and stay asleep throughout the night.

“Now I feel like I’m sleeping with the enemy!!”

So what the heck is really going on and what does insomnia have to do with menopause? Well, here’s a quick refresher if you didn’t know during perimenopause, your ovaries begin producing lower amounts of key hormones. This includes estrogen and progesterone. As these hormone levels fall, symptoms of menopause surge. One such symptom is insomnia.

Yeah….I know. Keep reading!

You see insomnia is a disorder that prevents you from getting adequate sleep. You can say that again…okay…insomnia is a disorder that prevents you from getting adequate sleep. Got it! This may mean that you have a difficult time falling asleep (that shall be me). It can also mean that once you do fall asleep, you have a hard time staying asleep (yep…that’s me too).

These severe hormone changes trigger sleep disturbances in women and YES it will mess up your natural sleep cycle because of the imbalance of ingredients in just about every system of your body. Your body and mind are actually quite active during normal sleep cycles. When the female body begins to experience ups and downs in levels of progesterone and estrogen the entire body’s chemistry is thrown off. Physical responses occur that not only disrupt your daily life, but they disrupt sleep, as well, and can become chronic.

So you see there is a connection between menopause and insomnia?

For women transitioning into menopause, sleep problems are often part of the course. So it is quite normal, whether we like it or not. In fact, approximately 61 percent of women who are postmenopausal experience frequent bouts of insomnia. Going through menopause can affect your sleep cycle on (3) different levels.

Hormone changes

• Your estrogen and progesterone levels decrease during menopause. This can trigger a number of changes in your lifestyle, particularly in your sleeping habits. This is partly because progesterone is a sleep-producing hormone. While your body copes with these dwindling hormone levels, you may find it harder to fall asleep and more difficult to stay asleep.

Hot flashes

• Hot flashes and night sweats are two of the most common side effects of menopause. As your hormone levels fluctuate, you may feel as if you’re having sudden surges and drops in your body temperature.
• You’re actually experiencing a surge of adrenaline that’s caused by the rapid decrease of hormones. This is the same chemical responsible for your reaction to stress or a fight-or-flight scenario. Your body may have a hard time recovering from this sudden surge of energy, making it difficult for you to fall back asleep.

Medications

• Just as natural chemical and hormonal changes can interfere with sleep, so can change caused by any medicines or supplements you’re taking. Sleep disturbance is a side effect of many medications, so if you’re beginning a new medicine or using an over-the-counter supplement, that may contribute to your insomnia.

To compound the issue, the more sleep you lose secondary to menopausal symptoms, the more pronounced insomnia symptoms become. Moodiness would become more intense, extreme fatigue is common (sorry baby!)

Now you’re probably wondering what are the symptoms of insomnia

The symptoms of insomnia aren’t as clear-cut as not being able to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Although these are two of the biggest indicators, others do exist.

People with insomnia may:

• take 30 minutes or longer to fall asleep
• get fewer than six hours of sleep on three or more nights per week
• wake too early
• not feel rested or refreshed after sleeping
• feel sleepy or tired throughout the day
• worry about sleep continually

Over time, this loss of sleep can take a toll on your health and well-being. In addition to being tired, insomnia can affect your health in several ways.

You may:

• feel anxious
• feel irritable
• feel stressed
• have a hard time focusing or paying attention
• find it difficult to remember things or stay on task
• experience more errors or accidents
• experience an increase in headache frequency
• experience gastrointestinal issues, such as an upset stomach

How is insomnia diagnosed? 

Your doctor will first ask you about your sleeping habits. This includes when you usually wake up when you usually go to sleep, and how tired you are during the day. They may ask you to keep a sleep diary to track these behaviors over a period of time.

Your doctor will also perform a physical exam to check for any underlying conditions that may cause insomnia. In some cases, this means they will take a blood test.

If the cause can’t be determined, your doctor may recommend that you stay the night at a sleep center. This allows your doctor to monitor your body’s activity while you sleep.

So let’s do the breakdown of perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause and some treatments.

Perimenopause Symptoms of Insomnia

Perimenopause can begin as much as 10 years prior to menopause, but for most women, the most noticeable signs and symptoms don’t show themselves until 5 years before full menopause and it could be much less. The severity and length of a woman’s menopause can often be dictated to some extent by family history.

During peri-menopause estrogen levels can go into decline, setting off occasional or isolated menopause-related symptoms. For example, you may experience an isolated hot flash or night sweat, or a menstrual cycle may be thrown off your normal cycle. These isolated instances can disturb your sleep and give you symptoms of temporary insomnia.

Menopause Insomnia

Medically speaking you have finally reached menopause after 12 full months without a menstrual cycle. Leading up to this though menopausal symptoms can become much more frequent and intense for some women. Hot flashes, night sweats, and anxiety will wake you in the night and disrupt your sleep so much so that many women report chronic insomnia symptoms.

Post-Menopause Insomnia

Some doctors believe that women may develop insomnia –that it becomes a behavioral pattern ingrained from regular sleep interruptions over the course of their lifetimes—from PMS and pregnancy-related insomnia. Insomnia doesn’t end during post-menopause.

In fact, insomnia can become symptomatic of more serious sleep disorders in a post-menopausal woman. Statistics prove that more women past menopause develop sleep disorders, including restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea than at any other time in their lives. Another factor post-menopause becomes causes related to aging, as well. The elderly account for another group in which there is a high incidence of insomnia. Medications increase, social situations change, and anxiety and depression can become marked.

Treating Menopause-Related Insomnia

In many cases, your doctor may choose to treat what he or she considers the primary source for insomnia—menopause. Hormone replacement therapy has shown to drastically relieve some symptoms of menopause, which in turn alleviate insomnia. But some women prefer to avoid hormone replacement or drugs and opt instead to try natural therapies. Of course, menopause insomnia symptoms might also be improved through sleep hygiene and improvement in diet, exercise, and other important daily routines.

Is insomnia treated differently when it’s related to menopause?

If your insomnia is related to menopause, you may find relief through balancing your hormone levels. There are several options for this, including:

• Hormone replacement therapy. This therapy can supplement your estrogen levels while the natural levels decline during perimenopause and menopause.
• Low-dose birth control. A low dose may be able to stabilize hormone levels, which could ease insomnia.
• Low-dose antidepressants. Medications that alter your brain chemicals may help you find sleep.
•  Melatonin is a hormone that helps control your sleep and wake cycles. It can help restore your sleep cycle.

Golden Divas here’s what you can do now

Many people will experience bouts of insomnia from time to time, but menopause-related insomnia can stretch on for weeks and months if not properly treated. If you’re experiencing insomnia, you should meet with your doctor to discuss your options.

In the meantime, there are several things you can do to reduce or relieve your symptoms. They include:

• Taking frequent naps. Sure, you can’t exactly pop your head on your desk at work, but who’s to stop you from a power nap during your lunch hour? Nap on the weekends and anytime you feel tired. If you’re sleepy and think you can get some shut-eye, take advantage of that.
• Staying hydrated. If you’re struggling to stay alert, reach for a glass of water. Water can help you keep your natural energy up.
• Listen to your body. As you age, your internal clock changes. You may not be able to stay up late and rise early like you once did. Moving your sleeping times around to what your body naturally wants to do may help.

Golden Divas are you sleeping beauty or are you sleep-deprived?

References

http://www.healthline.com/health/menopause/menopause-and-insomnia#overview1

http://www.insomnia.net/sleep-health/menopause/