6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR BETTER SLEEP IN MENOPAUSE

If there’s one thing I hear from women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s almost every day, it’s this: “Sleep was fine before, and now I’m up three times every night.”

Or maybe you just wake up at 3:15 a.m and can't go back to sleep. Or you fall asleep fine but wake drenched in sweat, brain racing, and can’t get back to sleep. Either way, it’s not just annoying, it’s exhausting. It's hormonal. And it affects everything. Energy. Focus. Mood. Patience. Cravings. Weight. Motivation.

Here’s what I want you to know:

You’re not losing your mind. You’re not just “getting older.” And your body isn’t broken. There’s a very real reason this happens, and once you understand why, you can fix it.

Sleep is one of the first things to shift when hormones start fluctuating. Estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol all play a major role in how easily you fall asleep, how deeply you stay asleep, and whether you wake up refreshed.

When estrogen starts to decline in perimenopause and menopause, it throws off your body’s temperature regulation. That’s why those middle-of-the-night hot flashes hit like a heat wave. But estrogen also influences serotonin and melatonin, the very hormones that help you relax and stay asleep. Fun fact, 90 percent of your seratonin is produced in your gut. And because seratonin is needed to produce melatonin, it's super important to address gut health when addressing midlife hormones.

At the same time, progesterone, the body’s natural calming hormone, drops, too. Think of progesterone as your internal anti-anxiety signal. When it’s lower, you’re more easily stressed and more sensitive to disruptions. GABA is another hormone that helps regulate anxiety and stress, and guess where it's found? Yep, also in your gut.

Now add stress hormones like cortisol into the mix. If you’re overbooked, under-rested, under-fuelled, or constantly feeling “on,” cortisol stays elevated. And becauase high cortisol is part of our body's stress response to help us avoid and get out of harmful situations it keeps your brain alert. A definite problem when you want to sleep.

The result? You’re tired, but wired. And that 2–3 a.m. wake-up? That’s your blood sugar crashing. Health and hormones truly is a lot of BS (blood sugar).

Most women are shocked when I show them how what and when they eat during the day has as much to do with sleep quality as any supplement or bedtime ritual.

When you skip meals, go too long between eating, deprive yourself, or eat mostly light salads or low-carb meals, your blood sugar becomes unstable. The body compensates by releasing cortisol in the night to bring blood sugar back up. It's that spike that jolts you awake.

So even if you fall asleep easily, your body’s internal alarm clock goes off at 2 or 3 a.m. because your brain senses a fuel emergency.

Nothing thrives in a deficit. When your body feels underfed and stressed, it’s not going to prioritize deep, restorative sleep. It’s in survival mode.

You’ve probably seen all the buzz around fasting and “not eating before 10am, or after 6 p.m.”
And while fasting can be beneficial for some people, it’s not hormone-friendly for women in midlife. In fact it can actually cause worse symptoms.

Going too long without food drops blood sugar and triggers cortisol. Over time, that pattern wreaks havoc on sleep, metabolism, and mood. If you’re waking in the night or dragging through your mornings, fasting is not your fix. Your hormones need fuel, not deprivation.

1. Fuel your body consistently with protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich carbs every 3–4 hours. This stabilizes blood sugar and keeps cortisol calm.

2. If you’re waking in the night, try having a protein snack 60-90 minutes before bed to keep blood sugar stable.

3. Alcohol and caffeine are not your friend. Alcohol fragments sleep cycles and raises cortisol later. Caffeine after noon can linger in your system longer than you think. Try replacing with herbal tea or hot lemon water.

4. Blue light from phones and TVs delays melatonin production, so create a screen-free buffer 30-60 mins before bed. Try journaling, stretching, or reading something light, instead.

5. Dehydration stresses the body, but so does getting up three times a night to pee. Front-load your water earlier in the day.

6. Lift heavy stuff. Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity, balances hormones, and helps regulate sleep rhythms.

Women are so good at blaming ouselves. You tell yourself you should be handling it better, or that this is just part of “getting older.” But sleep loss in midlife isn’t normal, it’s common. And common doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

The solution isn’t sleeping pills or stricter discipline, it’s supporting your hormones and metabolism so your body can finally rest.

When you feed your body the way it’s designed to be fed, you teach your nervous system it’s safe to relax.
That’s when you sleep through the night. That’s when your mood steadies.That’s when your body begins to heal.

When sleep improves, everything improves. You’ll have more patience. Clearer focus. Better digestion. Fewer cravings. More stable energy. It’s the foundation that holds everything else together.

If you’re ready to stop surviving your nights and start thriving through your days, I created a free video that walks you through exactly how to eat in a way that supports your hormones, stabilizes blood sugar, and helps you sleep, naturally.

Click here to watch it, and start waking up rested, focused, and ready to take on your day.