Is the Sandman Your Dream Guy?

I use to love the saying “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. It made me giggle and conjure up ideas of living life so full throttle that there was too much living to waste it on sleep. In theory, I would love to be this person, in reality, I now know I would rather stick to my 10pm bedtime. I think unless you’re a new parent or insomniac, most of us can rattle off why we don’t or shouldn’t get that blissful 7-9 hours we always hear bantered about. Some common sleep lies we may whisper to ourselves are:

• I’m too busy to sleep
• People who sleep a lot are lazy
• I can function great on 5 hours of sleep
• Waking up in the middle of the night is completely normal
• I need a couple of drinks at night so I can fall asleep

I realized that I only mentioned new parents and insomniacs above. Those people who have had such terrible sleep they start wondering if a good night sleep is an urban legend. But, I would be remissed if I didn’t also mention menopausal women. Did you know, insomnia is a common first sign of peri-menopause? 56% of peri-menopausal women sleep less than 7 hours a night. Our progesterone levels start to dip and before you know it, we’re lying in bed staring at the big dipper.  Progesterone is a calming and soothing hormone and it also eases anxiety and helps us sleep.

Personally, I am getting more and more into sleep and I dream of becoming a total sleep geek one day. One of the first things I learned about sleep is that we will die from lack of sleep (about 6 days) before we die from lack of food (about 21 days). That stat still stops me in my tracks. Most of us are probably not going with zero sleep day after day. But, the short interrupted hours that many menopausal women get may make us feel like we’re dying.

Poor sleep has a mental, emotional and physical impact on our bodies. And lack of sleep can lead to many common menopausal symptoms. Sustained bad sleep can increase your risks of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Several sleepless nights can lead to brain fog and lowered immunity and sex drive. It can lead to increased anxiety and depression. Sleep is serious business. You deserve to take the best care of yourself and that includes sleeping great.

Quality sleep is where our body and brain recovers. It’s where our short term memories are converted into long term memories. But as we age, our sleep quality decreases because of interruptions caused by fluctuating hormones, night sweats and even that snoring hunk of love next to us.

So, what’s going on in our bodies when we sleep that makes our desperation to find it as elusive as finding the holy grail? To start with lack of sleep leads to weight gain. Why is it that we can gain weight when we sleep poorly? Well, shockingly (insert eye roll) it has to do with hormones. A lack of sleep has found to trigger an increase in ghrelin (the hormone that makes you hungry) and a decrease in leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full).

When we sleep, our heart rate slows, blood pressure drops and breathing stabilizes. This reduces stress on the heart and allows it to recover from your waking hours. Sleep affects how your body reacts to insulin and can cause your glucose levels to increase leading to a pre-diabetes range.

What can you do to help you get not just more sleep but better quality sleep? 

• Maintain a healthy body weight.  Being overweight may change your sleep/wake cycles affecting sleep quality. Being overweight can increases your chances of developing sleep conditions such as sleep apnea.
• Avoid caffeine after 2 pm. That Venti Starbucks or Redbull might be the thing you crave as an afternoon pick-me-up but it’s also the culprit that will continue to keep you up well past Jimmy Fallon.
• Avoid alcohol. Don’t get me wrong because in my heart I am a wino and I love my occasional glass of wine. But, I’ve really pulled back on my consumption because alcohol is a sleep killer that prevents us from really getting that deep quality sleep that can lead us into and energy packed day. If you are having a nightcap, make sure to drink one glass of water with every alcoholic beverage. If you’re having 1 drink, stop 1 hour before bed. 2 drinks, stop 2 hours before bed, etc.
• Reduce stress. If you have a lot on your mind, do a brain dump right before bed. Write down everything that you have to do, you’re worried about, anything and everything. That way, if you wake up at 2 am your brain won’t spiral into a dozen different issues you need to deal with in the morning.
• Have a bedtime routine. This is really critical. You need to let your body and mind know that bedtime is approaching. It doesn’t need to be complicated, but consistency is key. Some things to consider doing an hour or two before bedtime is 1) taking care of your personal hygiene like brushing your teeth, taking off your makeup and anything else that makes you feel good. 2) Meditate to help relieve the anxiety and stress of the day and get you into a peaceful headspace. 3) Stop your screen time 60-90 minutes before bed or at the very least use blue light blocking glasses.
• Have a routine to fall back asleep in the middle of the night. I was very familiar with waking up at 2 am every night. If this is you too, here are my suggestions to get back to sleep, first, do not look at the clock. Telling yourself what time it is is only going to give your mind something to noodle over, like how many hours do I have before I have to get up? Next, try to focus on your breath. Slowly breathe in and out and just focus on that. I personally do this often and attach a mantra to it. Finally, I love a good middle of the night bedtime story to help calm my mind. There are lots of apps and podcasts that offer adult bedtime stories. My favorite podcast is Send Me to Sleep.
• Night sweats. Besides kicking off the blankets and sleeping in light breathable clothing or in the buff, what else eases night sweats? It takes a little imagination but I promise that visualizing cold works like a charm for night sweats. Imagine yourself walking outside in January with a hefty windchill or taking a plunge into icy cold waters. Couple this with some deep breathing and you can alleviate your night sweats and drift back to sleep..
• Keep your bedroom cool and dark. This is really important. And if you suffer from night sweats, you might also want to add a fan. Plus, the white noise from the fan is a bonus to help you fall asleep.
• Have and keep a sleep schedule. Having a bedtime and wake up time is such a good thing for your body and sleep. The key to it really working though is following it 7 days a week.

Happy Dreams!