Menopause Insomnia: An Annoyance That Can Be Reversed!

With menopause, there are number of symptoms you have to face.

Some of the symptoms include night sweats, hot flashes, joints pains, concentration problems, weight gain and the main frightened menopause insomnia.

Insomnia is a problem for women in menopausal and perimenopausal years. Curse!

Menopause insomnia is common among the most frustrating symptoms. Menopause insomnia has trouble getting to sleep and also waking several times throughout the night. Menopause insomnia leaves a person feeling tired and exhausted.

Sleeping pills can help to get peaceful nights of sleep but they work only for short term and consumption of pills for long period can lead to addiction. Some sleeping pills can even bring serious side effects.

Causes of menopause insomnia:

• If you are going through the stage of menopause, menopause insomnia is made worse by another symptom known as night sweats. When you fall asleep, you wake with the heart beating and sweat pouring down the skins. You will have problem of falling asleep with menopause insomnia and waking up two to four times. Women lay awake for half an hour each time desperately trying to get back to sleep.
• You can also experience menopause insomnia with other factors such as decreased estrogen levels or changes in your hormones. The drop in the brain chemical serotonin occurs when estrogen levels decline. The frequency of insomnia doubles during menopause compared to what you experienced during perimenopause.
• Depression in menopause stage can also cause insomnia and it can negatively influence your sleep. Decreasing estrogen levels can cause depressive symptoms. If you have regular menstrual cycle, ovulation causes progesterone to be released. Irregular cycles cause anxiety to build up as a result of this hormone.

Reversing Menopause Insomnia Symptoms:

Menopause insomnia can be reversed by taking few measures during day time.

• Exercising half an hour in the afternoon makes you tired and easier to fall asleep at night. Afternoon exercise can relax your muscles but evening exercise or exercise before bedtime makes you more awake and alert.
• Avoid stimulants such as coffee, tea, nicotine, sugar, or chocolate three to four hours before bedtime. Avoid alcohol before you go to bed. These stimulants interfere with your body’s sleep mode.
• Eat healthy foods that are high in tryptophan, an essential amino acid such as milk, bananas, yogurt, turkey, dates, and grapefruit that promote sleep. Avoid foods like cheese, tomatoes, sausage and spinach as these foods contain tyramine, an amino acid which promotes alertness.
• You can drink chamomile tea or glass of milk before going to bed. Chamomile tea relaxes you. Milk calms your nerves as it has calcium.
• As you suffer from night sweats during menopause, keep your bedroom temperature cool.
• Take a warm bath ninety minutes before bed time. It relaxes your body and makes you sleepy.
• Once you get into bed, breathe deeply and slowly. Tense and relax the muscles one by one in order to release the stress.

Your doctor prescribes the medications to treat menopause insomnia. If these medications do not work, do not use yourself antihistamines or antidepressants. Whichever method you are using for the treatment of menopause insomnia, follow your doctor’s advice.