Top 3 sleep tips for perimenopausal women

We’ve all heard about the 5am club, but are you part of the 3am club?

What I mean by this is, do you wake up at 3am every night unable to get back to sleep for hours, or even at all?

As a life and well-being coach, I speak to many women in their late 30s and 40s who are struggling with the sleep disruptions that can come during perimenopause. You're not alone if you find yourself wide awake at 3am, your mind racing with thoughts about minor tasks and to-dos. This can be a really frustrating and exhausting experience!

Good sleep is essential for our overall health, as it impacts every system in the body. A good combination of REM and slow-wave deep sleep are critical for maintaining brain function and memory, enhancing mental well-being, emotional and hormonal regulation, supporting learning, creativity, physical healing, and boosting immunity.

The good news is that there are some simple but powerful things you can do to take back control of your sleep. Here are my three key tips.

1. Let the morning light in

Good sleep starts in the morning when you wake up. So get outside into natural light for at least 15 minutes first thing, and leave the sunglasses at home. Getting morning light into our retinas helps us to regulate our body clock and circadian rhythms. This is vital for letting our body know when it’s time to eat, sleep, wake, repeat!

As we age our eyes become less able to take light in, which is why it becomes ever more important to implement this habit into our daily routine as we get older. 

2. Go old-school analogue

Get an alarm clock and get that smartphone out of the bedroom, or switch it off completely at least an hour before bed. Mobile phone technology is designed to hack your brain and change its chemistry, and that doesn’t stop when we sleep. Even when switched to ‘do not disturb’, your device can suppress melatonin production which regulates our bodies' sleep-wake cycle, and keep your brain in an alert state, reducing the amount of REM sleep you get.

3. Harness the magic of magnesium

Magnesium is a crucial mineral for all of our tissues, particularly muscles, brain and bones. It also activates the parasympathetic nervous system which gets us to a place of relaxed calm so that we’re ready for sleep. It regulates melatonin too, which is the key hormone that manages our sleep-wake cycles.

It’s also worth noting that alcohol, coffee, and stress on the body, can all reduce your body’s ability to absorb magnesium. While it’s important to do your research thoroughly when choosing supplements, consulting a healthcare professional if appropriate, a good quality magnesium glycinate can improve sleep, improve restless leg syndrome and reduce stress and anxiety. 

Making just a few simple tweaks like these can make a world of difference in your sleep quality, so give them a try just for a week and notice the changes you experience.