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Menopause and InsomniaThe menopause and insomnia make common bedfellows - so to speak. The variety of reactions that your body and mind may have to the hormonal changes that are taking place in your body when menopause starts and throughout its progress can mitigate against getting good rest. From the stages of pre-menopause, through perimenpause and the full menopausal symptoms, your sleep patterns may be disrupted. You may go for long periods without feeling as if you have had a really "good night's sleep". This can contribute to the general feeling of malaise, and fatigue menopause can seem to cause. The increased likelihood of suffering from anxiety during menopause can also add fuel to the fire that keeps you awake nights. And of course that 'fire' is all too often exactly how you can feel inside when you get those overwhelming 'hot flushes' or, as some say, hot flashes caused by the menopause. You may wake from fitful, or shallow sleep to find yourself drenched in sweat -- and feeling like you need to change your nightwear, or get that cold-clammy feeling which only increases the possibility of remaining sleepless. For some the only recourse seems to be to give up on getting sleep, and to get up and distract themselves from the issues of menopausal symptoms by throwing themselves into a good dose of household cleaning... or even vacuuming (if its unlikely to waken other members of the family!). But this is not the answer. Of course for the lucky ones the period of menopause can be relatively brief. Anecdotally we have been told that a major 'shock' to the system can cause the onset and rapid completion of the menopause. Perhaps a bereavement, a health challenge (for self or another family member), a job-loss, or other crisis could prove the tipping point that causes the 'full flush' of menopause to occur and sometimes it can be over in weeks or months! For others -- fortunate not to have a major upset of any kind -- the downside can be a menopause that lasts some years. In fact typically menopause can begin any time from about mid forties (say 45 years) through to early fifties (say 53 years). For some a long drawn out menopause could last seven or eight years! Ouch! It is the long-drawn out and uncomfortable side-effects of erratic hormonal activity and its resolution that you can seek to address by medicinal means. If your menopausal symptoms are just too much to bear your doctor (who you should always have referred to, anyway, as soon as you think menopause symptoms may be coming upon you) may choose to prescribe some kind of medication. But it is not always necessary to resort to drugs to deal with the natural process of leaving behind your fertile years and entering what should be a care-free time unburdened by your monthly cycle (which can have been such a problem in itself for so many women). We include a number of articles, tips and resources to browse if you think you may be (or indeed know only to well that your are) suffering the symptoms and signs of menopause! You might also take a look at one of the recently published books on menopause that can be easily (and instantly) downloaded and which you might find informative and helpful: Natural Remedies for Menopause Symptoms
But with respect to menopause and insomnia, this can be one of the more difficult issues to cope with and to resolve. It is all to easy to be tempted to resort to stepping tablets of pharmaceutical sleeping pills of some kind. But these are often of no real long term benefit. Although they can afford you a solid night of being 'knocked out', they do not provide 'real sleep' and you can even worsen insomnia symptoms by suffering 'rebound' or withdrawal effects when you stop taking sleeping pills for insomnia. So once again finding natural solutions to insomnia and sleeplessness, in general as well as during menopause, is a good idea. We include several articles that may be interesting to you, that discuss the causes of insomnia and that provide some insomnia tips and ideas that you might want to try. There is also a recently released publication from the same place as the menopause book that you might find worth looking at: Natural Treatments for Insomnia
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