A focus on sleep
Sleep is essential. As neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker states, it is not a luxury, but a biological necessity and too often we do not prioritise this need and unfortunately many suffer from insomnia.
The transitions in a woman’s life when they may experience particularly disrupted sleep include our period, pregnancy, post partum, the perimenopause and menopause. During these times there are shifts in our hormones which may contribute to hot flushes, sweats and a change in the production of sleep chemicals and hormones.
Furthermore problems such as depression can impact on our sleep due to lower levels of serotonin.
What can I do?
On a simple level we can create the initial foundations to help generate sleep by reducing blood sugar imbalances, maintaining a normal cortisol diurnal pattern and encouraging the natural rhythms that our body has evolved to use to instigate sleep.
Eat a whole-food, low sugar, colourful diet to help with your digestion, detoxification, blood sugar and hormone balance
Have an evening wind down routine
Avoid caffeinated drinks after midday (includes green tea and fizzy beverages)
Stay away from devices from 8 or 9 pm or use blue light blocking glasses
When you wake, throw the curtains open and exposure yourself to the light as early as possible and as much during the day.
Try to exercise in the first half of the day
Enjoy calming activities such as meditation, yoga and sex (!) in the late evening
Insomnia
Many many people struggle with their sleep and this can be for a variety of reasons.
Difficulty getting off to sleep
Waking early
Ruminating thoughts
Intermittent waking
Waking unrefreshed
What can I do?
Ask someone if you snore? If you do, do you gasp for air? Snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea are conditions that cause poor sleep and may result in fatigue and daytime somnolence. This has notable knock on effects to our overall health including our thyroid and hormonal balance. Try taping your mouth closed to encourage breathing through you nose or humidifying the room.
Focus on the pillars as discussed above and sleep hygiene rules.
Consider journaling to help download those thoughts before bed
Involve mediation into your daily routine
Avoid putting sleep on a pedestal – you will cope – it will get better
Consider sleep CBT
Consider getting your cortisol pattern and melatonin levels checked using a salivary cortisol or DUTCH test. These should preferably always be done alongside working with a clinician to ensure that the correct and as much information is gleaned from the results as possible.
Recommended listening / reading
I highly recommend taking the time to read the book Why We Sleep by Neuroscientist and sleep expert Matthew Walker. In his book he provides a revolutionary and fascinating exploration of sleep, examining how it affects every aspect of our physical and mental well-being. He also provides some excellent tips towards getting a better night’s sleep every night.
Listen to it on Audible or order it online via Amazon.
