Aging Gracefully, Sleeping Soundly
Supporting Women's Sleep Health Through Menopause
One of the most common complaints during the menopausal transition is poor sleep, with 40% of women saying that sleep complaints are the most bothersome of all menopausal symptoms. Women are waking up and having night sweats, or they aren’t able to get enough sleep, or their snoring is worse.
In past newsletters we talked about women’s sleep, and we talked separately about aging. Let’s bring those topics together now in how to support women’s sleep health through menopause.
Women’s Sleep Complaints Increase with Age
You’ve likely heard women in the office, at home or out and about complaining of hot flashes, and may have even observed them suddenly flush and break into a sweat. These are due to a rapid vasodilation, bringing blood to the skin and causing the symptoms. When hot flashes occur at night it’s very uncomfortable, and some women report sweating through sleepwear and sheets, having to change in the night even. What’s interesting is that waking up usually happens moments before the night sweat occurs. So it’s not the hot flash waking a woman, but she awakes, then has the hot flash. When women are sleeping better, they often report being less bothered by the hot flashes.
The prevalence of sleep disorders increases from the perimenopause to postmenopausal years.
Wake Disorders increases from 5.4% to 14.2%
Sleepiness increases from 29.5% to 34.2%
Insomnia increases from 37.6% to 48.3%
Restless Legs Syndrome increases to 53.1%
Sleep Apnea increases from 25.7% to 32.5%
There are also circadian changes associated with aging that can influence how a woman sleeps. Older women who sleep poorly have less nocturnal melatonin secretion than younger women, and than older women who sleep well. Core body temperature rhythm is also muted in older women who don’t sleep well compared to those who do.
Sleep Skills for Women Throughout Life
The good news is that there are strategies women can use to improve sleep in the second half of life that have been demonstrated to work. Among those is to directly manage menopausal symptoms, whether it be through herbs and nutrients, exercise recommendations, or other strategies.
I’m pleased to share that I’m speaking on an expert panel at the upcoming Pro-Age Woman Summit, May 2-4. We focus on the best ways to alleviate hot flashes and night sweats and get back to sleeping peacefully. It is free to join in, and I hope you do. The rest of the summit includes a wide range of experts sharing information for women to continue to live life to the fullest.
Join in: https://theproagewomansummit.com/cada
Sleep well and dream big,
Dr. Catherine Darley
Select References:
1. Salari, N. et al. Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung. 2023:1–15
2. Olbrich D, Dittmar M. Chronobiol Int. 2011;28(8):681-689
3. Bianci M. J Clin Sleep Med. 2016 Jul 15;12(7):1003-9
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