Perimenopause Related Insomnia

I can not speak to this issue specifically, but I have suffered from insomnia since I was a child. When my issues get bad I will supplement with melatonin, and when that does not work I start taking ambien. I try not use ambien more then 2 nights in a row though or else it effects my memory.

Ugh, so sorry. Mostly I just nap. In a snow bank, if possible.

:(

UGh! I feel your pain. Are you sure it's peri-menopasuse? Have you had any bloodwork done? 42 is a little early - but not unheard of. I did go through the insomnia - but I also went through the night sweats (waking up in a puddle of sweat) and hot flashes. It's just not fair is it?

I did all kinds of research to see if any supplements were proven to be helpful - none are. I have found dthat cutting down on sugar has helped. I also changed all caffeine intake to before 2:00 pm. I'd fall asleep but would wake up around 4:00 and not be able to fall back asleep.

What helped most was to do alot of physcial aactivity so I was physically exhausted (yard work, cleaning the closets and basements, long walks up and down hils, bicycling, etc.) Then I'd be so tired I'd stay asleep. I'm now 55 and I still get hot flashes but thankfully the insomnia has ended!

Good luck mama. As if monthly periods & childbirth weren't enough now this!

ish. herein begins the dance of figuring out how to manage YOUR version of peri and full-blown menopause. we are all so infuriatingly different that it's almost impossible to nail down what will work.
good for you for identifying when it happens, which will help you target and track it. if you drink coffee or tea, make sure you abstain during the restless time, or at least not after noon. alcohol can also disrupt sleep patterns, so it's best to stay off the hooch too. try to stay busy, and even have a good workout so you're physically tired, and then relax before bedtime with a nice bubbly bath. a little lavender spray on your pillow. melatonin can help. so can valerian. take a book to bed with you, and plan to read for however long it takes to get drowsy.
sleep aids can do the trick if you're desperate, but most of them make you a little groggy the next day.
good luck, mama!
khairete
S.

Melotonine and ZZZ-quil help me.
You might need to start cutting back on caffeine.
Right when you start having restless nights like this might be a sign you are more sensitive to it than you use to be.
I can have one coffee early in the morning and I'm fine.
If I have any after noon - I'll be up all night.
My bladder's getting more sensitive to it too.
When I have my coffee I need to plan to be near a bathroom about an hour later - so I can't just grab a cup and hit the road like I use to in my 20's.

I would talk to the Dr. and get a blood work up done. Make sure that is what it is, also check your Thyroid.

Good luck.

There's a lot of work done in women's supplementation with a formula that helps get your through the hormonal swings pre- and post-menopause. It helps with sleep, mood swings, hot flashes UTIs, breast health and osteoporosis prevention. Whether you have any or all of those now doesn't matter - prevention is important. So is increased immunity.

Be careful with melatonin - everyone is selling it and you have no idea where it's made, what the dosages are, and whether what it says on the label is what's really in the product. There have been a lot of studies and investigative reports on this and other supplements - some don't even have ANY of the supposed active ingredient in them! But our FDA doesn't have nearly enough inspectors to police this, so the stuff stays on the shelves.

I'm also 42. I really thought I was about done with this whole period thing. I hadn't had a period since last September ... until Monday. Ug!

I had many nights when I woke up at 3 or 4 and couldn't get back to sleep. I was almost always really, really hot, but I never woke up in a puddle. Also, once I was awake, I had to pee.

I usually took out my Nook and read my book until I fell asleep. Sometimes it took 20 minutes, sometimes it was more than an hour.

The insomnia seems to have passed for now. I'm guessing that could change again soon.

Good luck!

I'm 44 and have been dealing with this for a couple of years. I have had great improvement by focusing on a generally healthy routine which greatly affects my sleep. I can now pretty much get full nights of sleep most of the time, when it used to be impossible.

1) I'm a night owl and I love to work out in the late afternoon. My favorite gym classes are offered between 5 and 7pm.

NO DICE!!! I had to start working out EARLY in the morning.

2) My diet has to be healthy and clean (mostly organic, no hormones in the meat) and easy to digest. No eating after 8 pm. No caffeine after noon. No fruit or sugar after noon.

3) I drink almost no alcohol now. If I do have a glass of wine, it has to be a FEW HOURS before bed with tons of water and I walk it off. And only one glass. And it's still a risk. If I drink a couple of glasses of wine right before bed, FORGET IT. I'll be up from 3:00am on. I drink caffeine free herbal tea at night.

4) I power down the screens and go to bed early WITH A BOOK AND READ. If I surf the net or watch TV: trouble sleeping. If I try to just "go to bed" without reading. I stay awake obsessing about trying to sleep. I have to read, and the early work out and non-caffeine, non-sugar day takes care of the rest.

Not only am I sleeping well again, I'm having almost no PMS symptoms and they used to be severe, and I'm thin and healthier than before. So there are benefits to the sacrifices :) I don't think you need other remedies yet, and even if you go for supplements, etc, doing these other things will REALLY help.

Also, keep your temp as cool as possible at night. People sleep deeper and easier when they are cool even though it feels natural to snuggle up and be warm. That also really helps.

Sometime if I get out of whack on my routine due to travel or stressful deadlines, etc I go right back to not sleeping, but once I rein in my health habits, it improves.

I am exactly in the same place as you.
42 years old and definitely feel like I’m in perimenopause.
I do have mood swings especially around ovulation and prior to and even during my period. Ugh! My sleep also gets way off during these times.
There are times now where I can go night after night getting only 4-5 hours of sleep and then I can’t sleep anymore after 3am. So annoying!
So I can sympathize with you.

I’ve done many modifications to try to fix this over the last several months and I’m happy to say some things are working. But I still have sleepless nights too.
I use Emerita Progesterone and Phytoestrogen cream. I’m never sure if it is working but if I stop using it and then start up again it does seem to make difference.
Each tube is lasting me a long time so it may be worth it for you to give it a try.
Progesterone has a calming effect so I use that more at night and then the Estrogen in the morning. Maybe just experiment with it and see if it helps.

I used to read and watch tv in our master bedroom, sitting on the bed. I recently stopped that and am trying to really just use the master bed for sleep and intimacy .
I put away all electric devices/turn off tv an hour or more before bed. If I use my ipad to read I put the brightness all the way down.

I don’t drink any coffee. Haven’t for months now. I really like tea so I do drink green tea in the morning and usually drink decaf cold tea in the afternoon. This doesn’t affect my sleep. I notice if I drink regular tea in the afternoon, it does affect my sleep.

I use 3 mg of sublingual melatonin about an hour before bedtime. If I wake up at 3am, I take 2mg more of melatonin.
I bought a pillow cooling pad (from Amazon) because I feel that I am getting too hot at night and this is making is difficult for me to sleep. I love the cooling pad.
In the winter I probably won’t need it, but it is really nice for these warmer months.

I also started going to bed at 11pm instead of 10pm hoping to push my sleep cycle closer to a more normal waking time in the morning. This has helped too. I used to go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 3am. Now going to bed at 11pm and if I wake up after 4am that is still early but not as abnormal as being up at 3am. And I notice I’m sleeping past 5 hours if I go to bed later which is better.

I hope some of this info helps.
I’m sorry you’re going through this too.

Melatonin. It works the second night you take it better. It's at the local health food store. Google it to make sure it's what you want to use.

Dr. Christiane Northrup has some really great information on perimenopause. She has a wonderful book called "The Wisdom of Menopause" and many other resources to support you in navigating this time in your life.