HOW SLEEP AFFECTS HORMONES & WEIGHT IN MENOPAUSE

Not sleeping well? That just may be what's keeping your body from losing weight in menopause. Sleep is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle when it comes to health and weight.

Because sleep is not just about feeling rested. It directly impacts your hormones, your metabolism, your hunger cues, and your ability to burn fat and lose weight.

In midlife as estrogen dips and fluctuates, sleep often becomes more disrupted. Hot flashes, night sweats, 3am wake up, racing thoughts, all play a role in sabotaging your sleep. I sincerely hope you can't relate, but if this is you, keep reading.

When the hours of sleep, as well as the quality of sleep goes down, everything else gets harder. Hunger for example. Poor sleep interferes with your body's ability to properly metabolize the food you take in. It also disrupts two key hormones, Ghrelin (your hunger hormone) and leptin (your fullness hormone).

When you’re sleep-deprived, Ghrelin increases and Leptin decreases. So you feel hungrier and you also feel less satisfied. The perfect storm to make you overeat and feel like your willpower got thrown out the window.

Just know, it's not a willpower thing, it's a hormonal thing. It's your body's survival mechanism kicking in trying to give you more fuel to try and compensate for the low energy after a poor night's sleep.

Your body is literally driving you to eat more. Unfortnately not the nutrient dense foods that take longer to metabolize, but the quick energy foods. The sugary, carby, processed foods. Ever wonder why when you're overtired it's just so much harder to pass up the cookies, or box of donuts on the staff room table, or saying “no thanks” to “Would you like a slice of banana bread with that” on your afternoon coffee run? Now you know.

Not sleeping well also affects your cortisol levels. Just one night of poor sleep will show cortisol higher the next day. Which means more blood sugar instabiity, difficulty regulating hormones, more cravings, and more fat storage, especially around the middle.

Here’s something else most people don’t realize. Lack of sleep also affects how your body uses calories. When you’re sleep-deprived, your body becomes more insulin resistant. Which means it’s more likely to store those calories as fat rather than burn it up and use it for energy.

Which means that even if your food intake stays the same, your results can change. This is why you can be “doing everything right”, but if your sleep is off, your progress stalls.

Ok, so what can you actually do about it? Because telling you to “just sleep more” isn’t going to cut it. Start by looking at your evenings. Are you giving your body a chance to wind down? Or are you going from full-on scrolling mode straight to bed and wondering why you can't fall asleep? Your nervous system needs a transition.

Turning off screens 30 to 60 minutes before bed, dimming the lights in your home, reading a book, taking a bath, listening to soft music signals the brain it's time for sleep. Keeping your bedroom free from electronics, and having your bedroom temp a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house, keeps out the blue light and mimics your body's natural decrease in temp right before sleep. Also, maintaining a consistent bed and wake time establishes a routine that your body comes to expect and responds to.

Blood sugar can also be a culprit. If you’re waking up in the night, especially between 2-4am, there’s a good chance dysregulated blood sugar is involved. A balanced dinner with protein, fat, and carbs can help stabilize this. Undereating during the day can also backfire at night.

And then of course, there’s caffeine and alcohol. If you’re relying on coffee to get through the day, and a glass of wine to relax in the evening they are likely impacting your sleep more than you think. Try limiting coffee to one cup, after breakfast in the morning. Drink more water than any other beverage throughout the day and skip the alcohol in the evening. Trust me you'll see a difference in short order.

Sleep is not optional when it comes to health or hormones and certainly not when it comes to weight and fat loss in menopause. It’s foundational. So if you’re focusing on workouts and food but ignoring sleep, it might be time to shift your priorities to get the results you want.

For more information on how to balancing your midlife and supporting your health, hormones and healthy weight loss, watch Tania's free video.