Are Menopause and Insomnia Related?

Menopause and insomnia are certainly unrelated from a physiological point of view, but it is also true that they do often occur together - and when they do they are especially bothersome. Fortunately, women no longer have so much to fear from the age of menopause - they live much longer now, are much healthier when they reach that age and are much better treated in medical terms. Even so, it is an age that produces many changes, and changes can always be at least a little unnerving. Most women learn to cope with the challenges brought about by menopause, especially if they have a medical professional and friends in whom they can confide and obtain useful information and guidance. However, there are always a small number of women who find the changes so challenging that they - literally - lose sleep worrying about it.

There may be a vicious circle between menopause and insomnia. Inadequate and poor quality rest makes any individual irritable and out of sorts during the day, a change which is also a common feature of menopause. Comments and suggestions by others may increase the discomfiture of women struggling with the fact that they have passed reproductive age, and add to their troubles at night. The abrupt withdrawal of estrogen is a major development in its own right, and missing out on sound sleep at night only aggravates the problem for older women. There could be times when some individuals feel entirely alone and lost in these trying circumstances.

Win the Fight Against Menopause and Insomnia!

Ignorance is the common fodder on which menopause and insomnia feed. Many women, who are unfamiliar with the physiology of reproduction, and the interactions of hormones, feel almost guilty as their bodies and ways of thinking change after they stop menstruating. Insomnia is even worse because one may suffer indefinitely before realizing that something has changed in a sleep pattern. Not everyone is aware, on awakening, of sleep disturbances at night, and this is another reason for those women who sleep alone, or with reticent partners, to be unaware that they may suffer from insomnia.

Women must help doctors fight their menopause and insomnia. There is no need to suffer. A gynecological examination is a must at menopause in any event, and this is also the right occasion to find out from the doctor about what bodily changes to expect, and how to deal with them. This information should confine all traces of anxiety to the wilderness, banishing insomnia in the process. A doctor can also refer a woman to a psychiatrist should additional evaluation for insomnia be indicated. Women are best advised to discuss matters fully and freely with their doctors, so that they continue to live and to sleep well after menopause.