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Hot Flashes and Insomnia - Are They Related

One of the more debilitating symptoms of hot flashes is their impact on our ability to get a good nights sleep. A deep and uninterrupted night's sleep is too long overdue for many postmenopausal women. Many women say they just lie awake, unable to go to sleep or stay asleep, and worrying about being alert for the day ahead.

My grandma used to say she had "eyes like saucers" when her hot flashes were keeping her awake at night - I think she meant she was suddenly wide awake and unable to get back to sleep - but we certainly got the picture.

It seems that hot flashes, and insomnia in particular have plagued us for a very long time - as even the great Shakespeare wrote about it in Macbeth when he employs a physician to deal with his wife's insomnia: " Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Race out the written troubles of the brain; And with-some sweet oblivious antidote cleanse the stuft bosom of that perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart." Well, at least that's what it sounds like to me.

Has HRT Had an Influence on Insomnia For Menopausal Women

So even though we have suffered from insomnia for hundreds of years, it seems to have been getting worse more recently. The reason behind this could be related to women having stopped using hormone replacement therapy after the tests told us that the risks far outweighed any potential benefits. The sudden withdrawals lead to recurrences of menopause symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats and problems sleeping.

A lot of women are now going through a whole heap of menopause symptoms again, that they had once thought gone for good. But the good news is that there are other solutions to the age old condition, and many of these are now showing to be very effective at not only treating the symptoms, but in protecting our health as well.

Even though insomnia is a fairly common experience for post menopausal women, there isn't a "one size fits all" solution. As with every other symptom of menopause, you need to determine how it's affecting you, and what the best cause of action will be. Don't simply start popping sleeping pills to get through - they only offer short term solutions at best.

These days, women are learning to tailor treatment to their own medical history and risk factors. That often means sitting down with a health care provider and researching all the options carefully. For some, hormone replacement therapy is a reasonable short-term remedy.

Is Insomnia Part of Getting Old

It's well known that as we get older, our sleeping patterns and habits go through changes. We tend to spend more time in the first two stages of sleep. Stage one is called transitional sleep, and stage two is light sleep. Both are non rapid eye movement (NREM) stages of sleep.

Stages three and four are known as deep or Delta sleep, and these are the most restful - these are the stages we need to get to quickly and remain in longest. Stage five is known as REM or Rapid Eye Movement. This is when we dream and take up about 20 percent of our sleep time.

As we get older, typically into our fifties, we tend to spend more of our sleep time in stages one and two, with the obvious consequences - sleeping lighter and more prone to be woken up. So we get tired earlier in the day, and tend to wake earlier in the morning. But there are always options open to us to enhance our sleep time, not matter how bad it has got.

The first thing you need to do is figure out your sleep pattern and where the problem lies. Some people have difficulty falling asleep, while others will have problems staying asleep. Your problem may be that you're being woken by experiencing a hot flash, or it may be that you wake up, and then have the hot flush. So make some notes for reference.

Natural Remedies and Cures For Hot Flashes

While you have probably noticed that there are numerous herbal remedies for menopause and insomnia, you're probably wilting under a mountain of information. Some work, some don't - so buyer beware. Don't rely on sleeping medication too long - they should be seen as a short term solutions (at best) to help you get back into your routine.

How To Cure Your Hot Flashes

If your hot flashes are causing your insomnia, you need to find out what is triggering them. For some women it's having a dream in the middle of the night that brings it on, for others it could be something as simple as a "spooky" noise like the heating system switching on. Rather than treating the symptoms with sleeping pills, look for the triggers and manage those.

It's not a matter of your body working against you, it's that you're finally working with your body.

Sometimes all it takes is changing your routine or diet. Spending a half hour in a darkened, cool room increases sleep hormones like melatonin in the body. Avoid stimulating activities before you go to bed. That hot shower at night can trigger hot flashes. Exercising late in the day might spike adrenaline, making sleep difficult.

Diet is also very important - what we eat has a huge impact on how our body works. Some speciality teas for example can induce hot flashes, so choose carefully and do a bit of research. Believe it or not, carbohydrates also increase your sleep hormones, so if you're on a low carb diet you may want to make a few exceptions in the evening. And warm milk can be a great help to induce sleep, but I'd recommend a non-dairy alternative like soy milk.

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Stop suffering from hot flashes and insomnia. Wendy Jones shares her experiences for dealing with insomnia and hot flashes on her blog talking about symptoms of menopause This and other unique content hot flashes articles are available with free reprint rights.

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