Sleep…our lifeblood during Menopause and how we can adjust our exercise to suit.
LETS TALK SLEEP…..
Before you embark on lifestyle change ie: exercise and dietary modification, there are some foundations you want to consider before you do. One of the primary foundations of good health and quality of life is SLEEP.
Sleep underpins all bodily functions, both physical and psychological. If you aren’t getting good quantity – and quality – of sleep, everything else is affected. Sleep is foundational when we are considering good health and quality of life. Lack of sleep can affect your cognitive function, emotions, balance and co-ordination, hormone balance (cortisol level), weight management, heart function and stress response. Being sleep deprived can also be very unsafe, both physically and psychologically.
Sleep is your body’s “reset” process and involves 4 stages – light, deep, deepest and REM (or dream) sleep. The body requires optimal amounts of each to function well and most people need between 7-9 hours of good sleep per night.
During Menopause several factors can impact on your sleep: -
Pre menopause sleep patterns – if you always have challenges with sleeping, these are likely to worsen in Menopause.
Menopause symptoms – hot flushes/flashes, pain
Stage of Menopause – as you get further through Perimenopause towards Menopause, it gets harder to stay asleep as the changes in hormones affect brain chemistry, including changes in Estrogen, Progesterone and Follicle Stimulating Hormone..
Surgical Menopause – research shows that women that experience surgical Menopause may have more significantly impacted sleep.
What can you do if your sleep has been affected through your Menopause??
Practise a good sleep routine – same time to bed every night and wake up at the same time every morning.
Practise a good sleep ritual – prepare for sleep! Dim the lights early, stop using screens 1-2 hours before bed, have a shower and get into pyjamas, avoid caffeine in the afternoon, avoid alcohol most nights (alcohol changes your brain patterns and while you might get to sleep easier, you don’t stay asleep, and your sleep is poorer)
Practise relaxation – Yoga, meditation, journaling, colouring, find a word – whatever makes your brain switch off from life.
Practise a good sleep environment – dark, quiet and cool. If you are experiencing hot flashes/flushes during the night, try cotton bedding (multiple thin layers that you can adjust as needed), cooling pillows, less clothing and comfortable loose clothing. Even if you need to have your own bed for a while, in you are in a partnership - I LOVE Cameron Diaz for recently normalising this one!.
Practise a good morning routine – get up at the same time every morning and try and get some sunlight into your eyes – sit out the front and have breakfast or go for a short early morning stroll – no sunglasses, get the light into your eyes – this helps regulate cortisol and melatonin (your sleep hormone) and your circadian rhythm.
Exercise!! So much research points to exercise as a primary sleep management tool. Exercise regulates your brain chemicals, your neurological pathways, your energy system and your mental health. It has a big role to play in sleep management. You may want to avoid exercise close to bed time as this might affect your sleep, but a regular program of exercise built into your week will help significantly if you are having sleep issues.
HOWEVER – it needs to be the right type of exercise which fits with your sleep quality at the time. If you aren’t sleeping well, intense types of exercise that should be good for you, sometimes might not be as they push your body into exhaustion instead of positive metabolic change. If you aren’t sleeping well, lower your exercise intensity and volume, work on your sleep, then have an exercise professional help you work your way back up again when you are sleeping well. Walking, light swimming, Yoga and anything that gives you a relaxed feeling.
If you are really struggling with sleep in a big way, despite trying a lot of the tips above, it is time to see your GP and discuss. There are many Psychologists and other health professionals that can assist in managing sleep disorders. Don’t ignore it, tolerate it, or suffer with chronic sleep issues. It can be resolved or at least improved for you.
Also, please don’t stress (as much as you can) about your sleep issues. Stress and sleep are cyclical and the more you are stressed the less you will sleep. There are other healthy lifestyle changes you can implement that can take care of your health such as a healthy diet, relaxation, quality connection with people, reducing your load (don’t take on anything you don’t need to) and taking care of yourself.
It is NORMAL to experience sleep issues during Menopause - it’s one of the most common symptoms. However, it doesn’t mean you have to just “get through it” “its one of those things” or “it will be over soon and wont always be this way”.
Sleep is our lifeblood - dont let anyone tell you you just have to put up with bad sleep.
References:
Qian, J et. al (2023). The effect of exercise intervention on improving sleep in menopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Medicine. 10:1092294.
Kredlow, M et. al (2015). The effects of physical activity on sleep: a meta-analytic review. Journal of Behavioural Medicine. 38:427-439.
Tandon, V.R et. al (2022). Menopause and Sleep Disorders. Journal of Mid-Life Health. 13 (1): 26-33.
