Why Aren't We Sleeping?
5 minute read
I love sleeping, so why can’t I? Does midlife present sleep issues that we’ve never had to deal with before? It feels that way anyway. Tom Coleman is a Sleep Coach and Health Scientist, so in advance of his keynote speech at the Menopause Success Summit next week, I asked him ten questions I felt all us midlifers need answers to…
Tom, why can't we sleep?! Tell us how our sleep patterns change in midlife and beyond?
As we age, we tend to slowly become worse at many things; this is the nature of life! Sleep happens to be one of these things. Throughout our lifespan, hormone levels fluctuate – essentially signals aren’t as strong – and this has an impact. Wake episodes also increase, and add to that the consequences of a few decades of poor lifestyle choices and we can see how our sleep becomes disrupted.
How do perimenopause and menopause affect women's sleep?
There is huge upheaval, including a severe drop off in the production of oestrogen and progesterone, which can start years before menopause. Both these hormones have a powerful role in sleep. Oestrogen impacts the quality of sleep, and influences sleep latency, i.e, how quick you fall asleep, and it also increases REM sleep – this is when things such as mood and cognitive function restore and replenish. Any reduction in the hormone will thus negatively influence these aspects of sleep architecture. The same goes for progesterone, which has a key role in relaxation prior to sleep. Drop off in these hormones produces what are known as “vaso-motor” symptoms. These disrupt body temperature causing hot flashes and night sweats. Body temperature changes the actions of enzymes in the body and the production of things like melatonin – the sleep hormone.
Is our ‘always on' lifestyle having a detrimental effect long-term?
Absolutely. Failing to recognise the requirement to wind down cognitively will keep levels of cortisol elevated and keep us awake. Stress, increased connectivity, poor work/life balance and COVID have all contributed to a huge number of sleep issues in recent years. Long-term effects of sleep deprivation have been clearly shown to impact cardiac health, cancer and neuro-degenerative diseases. It is never too late to change habits and counteract risks with positive lifestyle behaviours.
How does stress or feeling overloaded affect our sleep? How do we counteract that?
Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. Stress plays an important role in our survival, but at the wrong time can be disruptive to sleep. Spikes in our stress levels later in the day or closer to bedtime can be an issue. The prefrontal cortex in the brain is responsible for planning, problem-solving, memory and analysis, and it is also responsible for worrying. We will naturally gravitate towards worrying at night. This can keep us awake for hours and eat into valuable sleep time. We need to reduce the “thinking and analysis” activity and bring ourselves back to the present moment. That’s where breathing exercises, reading and other activities will help calm the mind, body and nervous system. This is the state we need to be in to bring about sleep.
What routines/lifestyle tweaks are best for a healthy sleep cycle/circadian rhythm?
Anchoring your sleep/wake cycle using light. Every cell in our body needs light information. This is delivered through our eyes – our photoreceptor cells located in the retina – and then communicated through regions of the brain to inform systems when to activate. In real-life terms, we need morning light (5-10 minutes outside) to help activate the body and set a timer for the release of the sleep hormone. We also need lots of light exposure during the day and again in late afternoon close to sunset. This is a game-changer when it comes to embedding powerful signals for our circadian rhythm.
How does our diet affect our sleep?
Your digestive system has its own circadian rhythm and there are times when it should be active and other times when it should clean itself so that it can function correctly. Serotonin and dopamine are made in the gut along with immune cells. All of the systems work in unison. Ideally, we should leave 2-3 hours between our last meal and sleep time. Tryptophan, which we get from food, is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin for sleep. Carbohydrate-rich foods will induce a sleepy feeling, and some other foods actually contain melatonin. Cherries and pistachios are two which contain a clinical dose.
What supplements do you rate?
From peer-reviewed literature, I would recommend the use of Magnesium (in the form of Magnesium Threonate or Magnesium glycinate), L-Theanine, and a supplement called Apigenin. With any supplement, I would recommend speaking with your GP first to ensure it is not counteracting or interfering with any other medications, and I would recommend slowly introducing them one at a time rather than taking them all at once. I am also a huge advocate of taking Vitamin D, which is especially beneficial for female health. Other supplements like Ashwagandha and CBD have been shown to indirectly impact sleep by helping with anxiety. I also advocate for sleepy tea and essential oils, as these also impact mood and help create the right atmosphere for sleep and relaxation.
Do you rate sleep trackers?
I advocate for accountability in our behaviours and choices. You can choose the method. The technology is advancing, and we know from research that wearable trackers are about 75-80% accurate when telling us if we are asleep or awake, but this accuracy drops dramatically when assessing deep and light sleep. So, if you are an A-Type personality who needs to hit goals, don’t get stressed out because your device is telling you that you’re only getting 20 minutes’ deep sleep per night. Ensure the information you get is accurate. I am a fan of apps which promote relaxation, meditation and sleep.
Once we get to sleep, how do we stay asleep?
As the night progresses, our sleep cycles change and naturally become lighter. We all experience wake episodes but most of us don’t remember them. The message is that waking is a part of sleep so please don’t stress out about it. If and when you wake, don’t check the time. Instead learn a breathing exercise or a “non-sleep-deep-rest-protocol” or NSDR. This will put you back to sleep quickly. Staying asleep will be informed by everything you do while you’re awake! This means from the second you wake up, you should be thinking about light exposure, exercise, caffeine, stress, unwinding, food, phones, boundaries, alcohol, your bed and other things. Get these micro choices correct and your sleep will vastly improve, and wake episodes will reduce.
What is the one thing you would recommend for good sleep in midlife?
Step back and do a full evaluation of your day, and all the choices, timings, behaviours and environments that influence sleep. Without judgment, take action on these things. It’s difficult to pick one, but I’ll choose two instead. The first is the “anchoring” of your sleep using light exposure in the morning, midday and evening. This can be a game-changer. The second would be developing a strategy for waking up which involves a breathing exercise. We can leverage our respiration powerfully to change our physical state.
Tom is speaking about sleep in menopause at the Menopause Success Summit next week. For more information on Tom, check www.tomcoleman.ie
the menopause success summit takes place online on September 25th.
You can use code HEYDAY for 20% off the ticket price.
Hope to see you there!
join the conversation
share and comment below, we’d love to hear your thoughts…