Menopause Confessions: If only I could sleep (tips inside!).

Photo Copyright: shiwork/ Envato Elements

1 May 2024

Dearest Mia,

Today, I want to share something crucial that I’ve learned through my own menopause journey: the importance of sleep. If you’re in peri or menopause, this is especially for you.

Sleep can be elusive during menopause, and it's not just an inconvenience – it impacts everything. If you can conquer sleep deprivation, handling other menopause symptoms, especially emotional ones, becomes much easier.

Sleep…how?

But how do you get to sleep when menopause symptoms are keeping you awake?

One key thing I learned is that our liver works overtime between 1 AM and 3 AM, which can wake us up. This becomes even more pronounced during our peri and menopause journey.

Here’s why:

Learn to love your liver as it’s key in your menopause journey.

The liver filters all the blood in the body and breaks down harmful substances like alcohol and drugs. It also produces bile, a fluid that helps break down and digest fats and removes waste from the body. It is the second largest organ in the body (behind our skin) and is very busy all the time:

1. Liver's Role in Detoxification:

   • The liver is responsible for detoxifying the blood, processing nutrients, and metabolizing hormones. It performs many of these functions most actively during the night, especially between 1 AM and 3 AM, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and some Western medical principles.

   • This is the time when the liver is believed to be the most active in its detoxification process.

2. Hormonal Changes:

   • During menopause, there is a significant drop in estrogen and progesterone levels.

   • These hormones play a crucial role in many bodily functions, including sleep regulation and liver function.

   • The decline in estrogen can lead to an increase in stress on the liver as it works harder to metabolize and balance the remaining hormones and other compounds in the blood.

3. Increased Blood Glucose Levels:

   • Menopause often brings about changes in insulin sensitivity, leading to higher blood glucose levels. The liver has to work harder to regulate these levels.

   • When the hormone insulin levels drop during menopause, excess glucose can accumulate in the liver, leading to fatty liver. The liver works overtime to process this glucose, often during the early morning hours, disrupting sleep.

   • If we produce way too much glucose (by eating too many carbohydrates eg breads, pastas, crisps…) glucose spikes. With less insulin floating in our body to mop up and manage glucose, we also get the dreaded menopause belly fat.

   • Its key you focus on whole food nutrition and intermittent fasting to help manage blood glucose. Focus on reducing carbohydrates if you have unwanted belly fat.

   • TIP - in my own experience as belly fat reduced by following intermittent fasting and nutrition rules I developed, my hot flashes and night sweats disappeared within weeks.

4. Hot Flashes and Night Sweats:

   • Hot flashes and night sweats are common menopause symptoms that can disrupt sleep.

   • The liver's effort to balance (read re-use) remaining hormones and help manage the body's response to menopause symptoms, can be most intense during the early morning hours, contributing to waking up.

5. Stress and Emotional Changes:

   • Menopause often brings about increased stress and emotional changes due to hormonal fluctuations. The liver is also responsible for metabolizing stress hormones like cortisol. Higher stress levels mean the liver has to work harder, especially during its peak detoxification period.

   • TIP - learn to deep breath during the day in a 1 minute micro moment. We all can spare 1 minutes. Try doing this 3 times a day and watch the results.

   • The insights you get from this tiny practice will amaze you.

   • You will be hooked

6. Diet and Lifestyle Factors:

   • A diet high in processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats overburden the liver.

   • During menopause, these dietary factors can impact the liver's workload as it tries to process and detoxify substances, leading to increased activity between 1 AM and 3 AM.

TIPS

To support your liver, focus on a clean diet and drink plenty of water.

Supplements like artichoke or milk thistle can help detoxify your liver. Also, consider intermittent fasting to give your liver a break from processing too much glucose.

This is vital because during menopause, we have less insulin, a key hormone that helps regulate glucose. When insulin levels drop, glucose can accumulate in the liver, leading to fatty liver and belly fat – the dreaded menopause belly.

Your liver health directly impacts menopause sleep quality

My personal experience and external research have shown that prioritizing quality sleep is essential, especially in menopause.

If sleep is impacting your quality of life, seek relief first.

I spent years trying to manage menopause symptoms without any interventions, thinking they’d just go away. Eventually, I turned to natural remedies and supplements, and later, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), before realizing the profound impact of sleep on my symptoms.

PS - I don’t regret going onto hormone therapy (HRT) and am glad I did. It gave me the respite, the ledge to rest, regroup and rebuild strength to take the lead in my own menopause journey.

Here are some more of my favorite tips for better sleep:

1. Magnesium salt bath before bed: This helps relax your muscles. Especially helpful if you don’t tolerate oral supplements.

2. Sipping bone broth: It contains glycine, an amino acid that supports better sleep.

3. No electronic devices an hour before bed: This is tough but incredibly effective. If you can’t work, play or socialise without lights after dark, watch this interesting video by Dr Huberman about where to place your room lights at night (yes including the junk blue lights that everybody talks about affecting our brains and sleep patterns). Watch Dr Huberman about sleep HERE

4. Deep breathing exercises: Try working up to 21 slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. You can also alternate nose nostril with each in breath and out breath.

Sleep Environment

Creating a relaxing sleep environment is also important – think low, warm lights and a cool room temperature. If you wake up around 3 AM, don’t fight it. Sometimes getting up to read or listen to calming music can help you drift back to sleep.

If your mind races at night, try meditation. There are plenty of apps and videos that offer short, guided sessions. It doesn’t need to be long – just a few minutes can help calm your mind.

Conclusion

Remember, good sleep isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a must-have during menopause.

Taking care of your liver, consider daily intermittent fasting, changes toward whole food nutrition and establishing a healthy sleep routine will improve your overall experience.

Here’s to a better sleep and a smoother menopause journey for us all!

Hugs, Gra

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