How to Actually Get a Good Night’s Sleep During Menopause

Peri menopause and menopause can throw your sleep schedule out the window. With nighttime hot flashes, that weird anxiety that sets in when you close your eyes, and restless legs, it can seem like every possible symptom manifests come bedtime to conspire against you getting some sleep.

While getting HRT can be beneficial if you’re in the throes of peri- or menopause, it doesn’t magically resolve all symptoms. And if you’re struggling to get to sleep or stay asleep, these tips can be exactly what you’re looking for.

Fix Your Sleep Environment

One of the first things to do is take a good look at your bedroom. It needs to be pulling double duty for you now.

Ideally, your bedroom temperature should be around 65F and dark. However, you can adjust this based on your body’s sleeping temperature — if you get night sweats, then you might need a cooler space. If you feel cold, then increasing this can be better for you.

Then you need to make it dark and remove all light sources, so that when you go to sleep, there are no light sources. Backout blinds will be a good investment at this point, especially if early light or traffic light sources interrupt your sleep.

Then look at removing anything that can keep you awake or stimulate your brain, giving it a reason to stay awake. So your phone, laptop, tablet, and TV, if they aren’t helping you sleep, need to go.

The idea is to create an environment that supports sleep, not fights it.

Cooling Bedding

Cooling bedding is a game-changer if you run hot when you’re asleep, and this disturbs you. Your regular duvet could be making things worse and is turning every hot flash into a full wake-up event.

Cooling bedding, however, typically made from natural fibres such as cotton or bamboo, allows the air to flow around you and will reduce moisture, meaning it’s keeping you cooler and not trapping excess heat and moisture.

Wear Cotton Sleepwear

If you sleep in pajamas, then now might be the right time to address what the fabric is actually made of. Man-made fibres can contribute to poor sleep, and synthetic fibres can hold heat and make you uncomfortable fast.

Lightweight night gown options in pure cotton let your skin breathe, cotton absorbs sweat without feeling heavy or clammy, and dries quickly, so you’re not lying in discomfort.

Choose nightwear that is a loose, comfortable fit over tighter options for improved comfort when sleeping.

Gett Up When You Wake Up

Not immediately, if you feel you can go back to sleep within 20 or 30 minutes, but if you’re lying awake longer than this, it’s counterintuitive for sleep.

Get out of bed, go somewhere quiet, and do something low stimulation. You might want to read a book, sit in low light, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.

If you lie in bed trying to force sleep, or you stay in bed and read, for example, then your brain associates your bed with wakefulness. You need to train it to see the bed as where you sleep. It might take a few nights to work, but keep doing it if you can’t get back to sleep, and you’ll be setting the tone for yourself, and your brain will know that bed means sleep.