Many women experience poor sleep patterns during menopause, and in the peri-menopausal period. Poor quality of sleep, insomnia, and waking up feeling unrested are all very common symptoms.
In this blog, we’re going to talk about the main problems poor sleep can bring about, and give you some tactics you can put into place right now to help you sleep better.
A lot of women come to us with very similar issues related to their general health, and menopause.
The main ones I see are:
Fatigue – Feeling tired all the time is physically and mentally draining. If you wake up tired, feel tired during the day, tired at night it gets really, really hard to be the best Mother, Partner, Employee you can be right?
Mood – I’m not just talking about being snappy with you love, but depression and anxiety are also very common. While your hormone levels are changing, your moods and mindset can be affected in different ways. Not sleeping well can amplify those feelings, often in a negative way.
Weight gain – As we age, our metabolic rate changes, and we require less calorie intake to maintain our weight. Menopause throws in the extra challenge of changing hormone levels. If you are fatigued all the time, in a bad mood, and feeling flubby, then the last place you want to go is to a gym full of bunnies and beefcakes, right? So exercise takes a back seat, often contributing to weight gain as well.
So, what can you do to:
* Change your energy levels & mood
* Sleep better
* Stop the weight gain, even lose what you have already gained?
Watch the video below, and i’ll give you 3 tasks you can put into place right now, to be sleeping better, have more energy, and control your weight.
1. Improve your sleep patterns.
- Become an early to bed, early to riser. Melatonin levels in your body decline with age, going to bed when it’s dark, getting up in early light, helps maintain better sleep rhythms.
- Have a bedtime ritual.
1 Have a nice cuppa, herbal teas (while not proven to help you sleep) are low in caffeine, and less likely to keep you up. 2 Write a “to-do” list for the next day, to clear your mind of the clutter (work, kids) that might keep you mind turning over, writing a list helps your brain feel like it’s dealt with any issues.
3 Put your phone down. Use an alarm clock. Leave it in another room. Set airport mode. Unless you have a “life and death” job, any calls , messages etc, are not likely to be life and death, and can wait until the AM. The light from a phone has been proven to disturb the bodies natural patterns of sleep.
4 Have a warm shower or bath. Raising the bodies core temperature has been proven to make you feel sleepy.
5 Read a book. My personal favourite, reading is guaranteed to make me feel sleepy.
2. Exercise regularly, and early! Getting up early to exercise will have you feeling more energised during the day. Exercise increases feel good hormones in the same ways drugs or alcohol do, which maybe why it can become addictive!
Exercise will also fatigue the body (in a good way), making it easier to sleep that night.
Meditation or Yoga are also a form of exercise that can help. Practising self care and mental clarity will over time have you feeling ,more relaxed and energised.
3. Eat better. Follow a structured plan created by a professional. Menopause is a period of great hormonal change, and nutrition plays a pivotal role in how hormones react to other agents in the body. If you eat like crap, you’re probably going to feel like crap!
Most women who come to me for assistance say “I eat really well”, which might be true in a lot of cases. However, it’s not just a matter of eating lots of vegies. Everyone is different, an I am yet to meet the person who can’t make some improvements in their eating plan. It’s not just how much you eat, but it’s getting the balance of macro and micro nutrients right for you.
Eating enough of the right foods will give you a higher level or energy and vitality, improve gut health, improve organ function, and when all of those things click into place, you’ll feel less fatigued everyday.
There is no magic cure for menopause. Every woman must go through it at some stage, and every woman is different.
What we can do is make small improvements in sleep, exercise, nutrition, and self care to give yourself the best chance to be the best version of yourself.
If you want to find out more about how you can kick menopause to the curb, sign up below or to your right for a free success session with myself. We’ll have a talk about you, where you are, where you like to be, and if we have some common ground we’ll talk about how we might be able to help you.
Bren “Don’t talk to me, i’m tired” Ryan
Personal Trainer,
Weight Loss Guru,
Expert in helping middle aged Women kick ass!
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