Five Ways You Can Improve Your Sleep at Midlife
It’s 1 a.m. and your digital alarm clock is taunting you.  Those little blue numerical lights glow brightly in your wide-open eyeballs.  You close your eyes with stern force, hug your pillow for dear life, and will yourself to let go.  Sleep!  You NEED sleep.  Ten minutes later you find yourself staring at the clock again while your husband snores peacefully.
You could commit husband-a-cide, but it’s really not his fault that he is sleeping and you’re not.  Insomnia occurs more commonly in women.  Yay.  Add menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, restless legs and more frequent nighttime urination, and it becomes an uphill battle to get the healing sleep needed.  So what are some tips to overcome the lack of quality sleep during menopause?  Here are five you may not be aware of:
-  Try drinking a STRONG cup of chamomile tea 45 minutes before bedtime.  Dr. Low Dog recommends using 2 or 3 chamomile tea bags to one cup of boiling water. Steep for five minutes and sip slowly.  Source: Women’s Health in Complementary and Integrative Medicine, p. 188.
- Make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible.  That irritating alarm clock with its glowing digital numbers right next to your bed?  Even a small amount of light can interfere with your brain hormones and circadian rhythms.  If you simply can’t get the room dark, try wearing a sleep mask.
- Ever notice how people texting at night have that eerie blue glow? Â Or wake up ready to write down the Next Great Idea, and get blinded by your computer screen?
During the day, computer screens look good—they’re designed to look like the sun. But, at 9PM, 10PM, or 3AM, you probably shouldn’t be looking at the sun. Flux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
It’s even possible that you’re staying up too late because of your computer. You could use flux because it makes you sleep better, or you could just use it just because it makes your computer look better. Â Source: https://justgetflux.com
- According to Susun S. Weed (New Menopausal Years The Wise Woman Way, p.131) a bedtime dose of 500 mg of Calcium can induce a good night’s sleep.
- Dr. David Williams suggests making a sleep-inducing “serotonin shake” (or walnut milk) simply by blending 1/8, to 1/4 cup of walnuts with an equal amount of skim milk about 30 to 45 minutes before bedtime. For even greater benefits, you could also include a teaspoon of ground flaxseeds and/or raw sunflower seeds, a tablespoon of lecithin granules, and a dash of powdered cinnamon and vanilla extract. The walnuts alone will do the trick, but you can experiment a little with the other items to come up with your own personal formula. However, it’s best to try and keep the finished mixture around 1/2 to 3/4 cup. You’ll be surprised how effectively this little shake can take the place of those late-night food cravings and help improve your sleep as well. Â Source: Dr. DavidWilliams.com
So there you go.   A few ways to find your way to a solid night’s sleep and maybe, just maybe, start liking your husband again.
Are you aware of any natural ways to fall asleep and stay asleep? Â Please share!
Two more ways to get some sleep!
1)NEVER, and I mean NEVER, look at the clock! Knowing what time it is and how much you have left before the dreaded alarm just makes you more uptight.
2)Focus on relaxing one body part at a time. Start with toes, move to ankles, up to calves, then to knees, and go as far as you need to go. (I’ve never made it past my knees!)
Hi Kathleen! Yep, I totally agree. Trying not to look at the clock is like trying to ignore the box of chocolates sitting open on the counter. But, it is best to let. It. Go! Your second suggestion is one I used on my kids when they were growing up. If they were having a hard time going to sleep I’d sit on the edge of their bed and with a soothing voice ask them to make each body part go as limp as possible. It did seem to work!
Thank you for sharing, caring, and visiting. Hugs!