Menopause Sleeplessness Treatment
Hormone Levels
Waning and waxing levels of estrogen and progesterone are the culprits responsible for disrupting normal sleep routines. With increases in fatigue and anxiety throughout the day, women search for relief from this menopause related symptoms. Tackling hormone imbalances diminish symptoms related to sleep deprivation. The hypothalamus alerts the pituitary and endocrine glands to produce estrogen and progesterone. The hypothalamus also controls the body’s temperature, hunger and thirst, emotional health, as well as other body functions.
Hot flashes and night sweats that disrupt sleep are caused by the body’s attempt to regulate these fluctuating hormones. Blood pressure increases, nerves excite along the skin of the face, neck, and arms resulting in flushing. Hunger-signals become more frequent from the body’s inability to balance hormone ebb and flows. Circadian rhythms control the sleep-wake cycles of the body. Once disrupted, these rhythms require assistance to reset the body’s clock, similar to the functioning of an alarm clock.
Ways to treat menopausal sleeplessness
Unable to foresee the risks associated with hormone replacement therapy, mothers and grandmother took estrogen replacement medications, routinely prescribed by medical health professionals, during the 1970’s and 1980’s. This common approach was generally, the only option provided to women. Medical health professionals prescribed medications, developed from extracted mare’s urine because it mirrored the effects of human estrogen, repairing estrogen imbalances. Women took this medication for 20 or 30 years unaware of the risk.
Clinical studies completed during the 1990’s found increases in breast and ovarian cancer in women who participated in hormone replacement therapy. Today, a combination of changes in habit and routine, as well as, alternative therapies and supplements are viable and successful options for symptoms of sleeplessness in menopause women. These options are often recommended by medical health professionals.
Three Approaches for sleep deprivation that influence fluctuating hormones during menopause include lifestyle changes, alternative therapies, drugs and surgery. The least risky and commonly recommended approach is simple lifestyle changes. In some extreme cases, however, drugs and surgery may be necessary to reduce suffering and increase quality of life for some menopausal women.
Lifestyle Changes
Small changes in daily habits increase health and diminish sleep disorders. Arranging a space that is only used for sleep will help develop a sleep routine. Laying down to sleep each night and rising the next day at regular intervals, helps to reset the body’s internal sleep clock. Sleeping in a darkened, cool room with few disturbances decreases the time it takes to relax into sleep. A cool room will lessen the effects of night sweats, as well. Keep work, laptops, ipads, and other entertainment devices out of the sleeping area. Cell phones with auto-text/tweet features can wake women, constantly with message alerts. Even momentary sleep disruptions can draw a person from REM sleep. This deep cycle of sleep is necessary for the mind to rest the muscles to relax, and the body to rebuild energy reserves for the next day.
Getting to Sleep
Listening to soft or soothing music can induce sleep. Place lavender or lemon balm in a pillow sachet to calm anxiety. Count backwards from 100 or repeat a favorite poem or rhyme to relax muscles in preparation for sleep. These and other relaxation techniques can quiet the mind at bedtime. Exercise for 30 minutes each day to tire the body in anticipation of sleep, but avoid exercise just before bed. Limiting caffeine and alcohol reduces nerve stimulation before bed. Although it can be tempting to relax with alcohol, this substance is actually a stimulant. Quit smoking, as nicotine is also a stimulant. Avoiding liquid late in the evening can diminish the urge to urinate throughout the night, maintaining uninterrupted sleep.
Alternative Therapies
Hypnosis, acupuncture, herbal supplements, massage, Shiatsu, and aromatherapy are successful alternative therapies for managing the symptoms of sleep deprivation in menopause. Herbal supplements are an easy and cost effective method for inducing sleep. Supplements are designed to assist the body’s normal mechanisms for sleeping. Non-Phytoestrogenic herbs are centuries old, sleep aids that calm the nerves, ease the mind and relax the muscles, naturally.
Plant Estrogen
Phytoestrogenic herbs or plant estrogens replace stores of estrogen lost during menopause. This estrogen replacement supplements diminish the body’s ability to produce estrogen, naturally. Women are unable to stop taking these types of supplements without a return to sleeplessness. Non-estrogenic supplements, though, do not contain any plant estrogens. These herbal combinations nourish the pituitary and endocrine glands enticing these structures to produce estrogen and progesterone as they once did. The gentle nudge of non-estrogenic remedies in menopause sleeplessness symptom is the safest and most effective route for reestablishing and maintaining healthy sleep patterns. Combining alterations in lifestyle, practicing alternative therapies in conjunction with herbal supplements boosts energy levels and reduces sleep disorders.
Drugs and Surgery
There is a small percentage of women that do not find sufficient relief from alternative therapies and herbal supplements. Some severe symptoms such as pain with menstrual cramping, depression, and debilitating sleep disturbances justify some treatment risk. For these women, the danger of breast and ovarian cancers and long-term medication use for reproductive surgery are worth the risk. Women experiencing sleep disorders resulting from menopause can find relief.
