Mine has been terrible! I’ve also heard from friends or clients that their sleep has been atrocious!
I love sleep, so this is not good for me!
Then I read a few articles recently saying that many people are finding it hard to sleep well during lockdown – so I thought maybe that’s it!
I have to confess that my stress levels have been higher than normal.
There’s just too many things on my plate at the moment – my girls at home all the time, I’ve been homeschooling them, husband is working from home, I seem to be cooking non-stop… Not to mention the political lockdown situation and all that goes with that!
I’m also working and getting busier and trying to fit that into my spare hours, which is usually in the evenings and later at night! And we all know what blue light does to our sleep, right?
Combining all this with perimenopause, it’s a wonder I sleep at all!
Insomnia and trouble sleeping is actually quite common during perimenopause.
And the reasons are varied and unique to you.
Maybe you get hot flushes and night sweats, or are prone to anxiety and panic attacks.
Eating too many refined and processed foods or not exercising enough.
Or you are exposed to too much blue light in the evenings.
Often our liver is overtaxed, and that can also have a big impact….
During perimenopause we are in a transition period for our sleeping patterns.
We may need more sleep now, like in our teenage years, and then once we are in proper menopause we may need less.
So don’t feel guilty if you feel you need to sleep more!!
Now, let’s talk about STRESS.
This is what is I think is the main thing getting to me at the moment.
Stress in not all bad, it is there to motivate us and help us when we are in danger and to survive. One of the main hormones involved in this is CORTISOL.
Cortisol is there to wake us up and give us energy in the morning and during the day. By evening it should decrease, giving way to melatonin to help us wind down and go to sleep.
The problem starts when we are constantly stressed. Our cortisol levels are constantly on a high, making it much harder to go to sleep.
During perimenopause, our adrenal glands (which produce cortisol) also need to help out with estrogen production, and if they are already over-stressed… well you can see where I’m going with this! It’s a wonder we ever sleep at all!!
This is probably where my problem lies at the moment. It is just hard to get away from stress at the moment, isn’t it?
And remember me mentioning the liver?
I reduced my alcohol intake to 1-2 glasses a week, and now am sleeping so much better.
Sleep is so important for our health and well being. It is especially so during perimenopause because we need that recovery time for our hormones that are naturally all over the place.
We also need it to reduce stress and recharge our energy levels.
If we don’t get enough we can be more prone to inflammation and therefore more at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other related conditions.
Homeopathy can help get you better sleep during perimenopause, especially if it’s stress or anxiety related. Feel free to book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if I can help you!
During these interesting times, it wouldn’t be surprising if your anxiety has gone through the roof!!
There are very real reasons for our anxieties at the moment, but some have also been hyped up by the media.
If you are in the middle of perimenopause, your anxiety has been likely worse than usual, and that was bad enough!
Let’s have a little deeper look at why we are so prone to anxiety during perimenopause.
Anxiety is actually one of the most common symptoms during perimenopause. It’s usually is the type of anxiety that is disproportionate to the situation. You seem to worry about everything and anything!
This anxiety can easily lead us to experiencing panic attacks, which can be quite scary.
Everything seems overwhelming. You can’t even make a decision without breaking into a sweat of worry and panic.
So, what is going on within us that is causing all this?
Fluctuations in our hormones, have a major part to play in this. Especially progesterone levels.
Progesterone is a calming hormone. When its levels start to decrease in perimenopause, we can feel worried and anxious about any little thing.
Perimenopause is the time when our past unresolved emotional traumas come to the fore. It is natural that we start feeling anxious much more easily. It is our body’s way of telling us we need to resolve something.
In more normal times, this is likely the main reason why we get so anxious during perimenopuase. Have a deeper look into what is making you anxious and panicky. Those seemingly little things are usually a standing in front of a bigger thing that keeps calling you to be resolved.
At this moment in time, however, I can see that our cortisol and adrenaline levels are the ones causing most of this mayhem.
Cortisol and adrenaline are our survival hormone. It takes precedence over all the others. They are produced when we are in perceived danger, it’s our flight or fight hormone.
We have all been feeling in some sort of danger these last few weeks – from the virus, from losing our freedom, from our inability to see friends and family, from being in financial hardship, from the probability of losing our livelihoods… the list can go on…
If these two hormone is overflowing due to stress, they will create imbalance in all the others. Including progesterone, our calming hormone.
It’s no wonder we are all feeling super anxious. We’ve got anxiety coming at us from the external stresses and fear being thrown at us every day for the past 2 months. And we are also getting it from the hormonal imbalances that result from it.
So what can you do to feel more calm?
Some simple things you can easily do right now include avoiding alcohol and caffeine, and taking time to exercise and to rest as well.
Nutritionally some vitamin B6 and magnesium could help, as they calm your nervous system.
If you feel your anxiety is too much, out of proportion or persistent, or you are having a difficult time dealing with it, then do try to get help.
EFT, meditation, mindfulness and counselling may be very helpful in this instance.
Homeopathy and flower essences are also amazing in these situations.
Please don’t let yourself get mired in your anxiety. I am here to help.
I’m offering free 15 minute chats to all my clients, to talk about how you are doing, and help you feel calmer and more at peace.
I’m a registered Homeopath living in the small, beautiful rural county of Herefordshire in the UK. My passion is to help women balance their hormones in a natural, safe and effective way, so they can feel like themselves again.
