In his book,  Sleep for Success: Everything You Must Know About Sleep but Are too Tired to Ask, nationally renowned sleep expert Dr. James Maas writes that a power nap is an “easy, healthful way to quickly boost alertness, concentration, productivity, creativity and mood.”   Here are his suggestions for achieving a good nap:

• It should be about fiften to thirty minutes in duration – not longer. This will leave you feeling refreshed.
• Sweep your head of “nap blockers.”  Forget about the to-do list in your head and turn off the cell phone.
• Block the light and noise in your napping place using an eye mask or ear plugs if necessary.
• Get comfortable. If not at home, just sit back in your chair or use a yoga mat on the floor.
• Then close your eyes and drift off

Easier said than done, you say?  You might want to try the Power Nap Kit, which offers three voice-guided power-nap sessions (disc 1) and three music-only power nap sessions (disc 2).  The kit includes a 44-page booklet about sleep, stress and power naps. It just might be the tool you need to help relax and rejuvenate you.

Wendy: Why do mid-life women have so many sleep problems?

Rebecca: Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep are two complaints I frequently hear from women who are transitioning through menopause. Many women, who are in the peri-menopause transition which usually starts around the age of 45, usually face this issue the most. The most common reason for this is the lack of a hormone called progesterone. Progesterone is produced by the ovary during ovulation and during peri-menopause, ovulation declines significantly thus reducing the production of progesterone. Progesterone’s key role in a woman’s body is to: regulate menstrual periods, regulate moods and allow a feeling of drowsiness at night which allows us to sleep easily.

The second complaint, I most often hear is difficulty staying asleep, which usually occurs during the menopause transition (average age 51). This is most commonly related to the decline of estrogen production. Estrogen is a wonderful hormone that has many roles including regulating body temperature. When estrogen levels drop we start to experience hot flashes and night sweats. Our estrogen levels are usually at their lowest around 2am, thus the occurrences of night sweats during this time are at their highest. If this happens night after night a cycle of anxiety can occur, which can set a woman up for additional sleep difficulties.

Many women have developed poor sleep hygiene practices over decades of focusing on the needs of their families. In the past they have gone to bed at whatever time they are finally finished with their day and sleep came fairly easily. However, as they begin to enter into menopause and can no longer rely on their hormones to help them sleep they need to take a new approach

Wendy: What do you recommend to your patients?

Rebecca: I begin by talking to women about good sleep practices otherwise known in the medical community as sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene refers to a predictable routine that is practiced on a nightly basis that allows the body to prepare for sleep. This includes going to sleep and awakening at the same time each day including weekends.

The atmosphere is also really important for your sleep hygiene, so the bedroom should be quiet, dark and cool.  Reading “light” material (not work related) helps to relax some women. Listening to relaxing music or a warm bath with lavender (aromatherapy essential oil) calms the body as well.  To reduce night sweats and provide a calming effect, I frequently recommend natural supplements such as Estroven Nighttime to help aid with menopause symptoms while sleeping.*  This all natural supplement contains Black cohosh, vitamin D3, valerian root extract, and Hops extract (both derived from plants and used for their sedative properties).Valerian root and Hops extract have been used for thousands of years in Chinese health practices.  Many of my patients have used this all natural supplement in both peri-menopause and menopause with great success.

I encourage my patients to remember that good sleep hygiene needs to be practiced on a regular basis to be effective and whenever possible to try and stay away from prescriptive sleep medications. Prescriptive sleep medications have many side effects not to mention their addictive, dependent qualities.

* Rebecca is a spokesperson for this product.

Note from Wendy:  See my previous blogpost about Menopause Coaches, and how they can help you.  Also, if you want to know if your own bedtime habits are helping or hampering the quality of your sleep, take this 10-question “sleep hygiene test” that I found on the Discovery Health website.  Finally, if you have conquered insomnia without prescription drugs, why don’t you tell others what “habits” have worked for you in the comment box below (or click on “comments”).

Sleep disturbances are common complaints of women going through the peri- and post- menopausal transitions and this and other studies have pointed out the consequences of not getting enough shut eye.  If you’re typically getting less than six hours of good quality sleep a night, find a medical professional (such as a naturopathic doctor, internist, acupuncturist) or even a yoga instructor or meditation class to help you solve this problem.

Personally, I have found that a combination of supplements, hormone balancing and exercise (above all) have just about cured me of my night-time anxiety and insomnia.  As a result, I’m more clear-headed, more energetic and I have a much better disposition on life!

I’d be very interested in hearing about what has helped you solve your sleep problems.

The culprits are two hormones; ghrelin, often referred to as the “hunger hormone” because it stimulates appetite and increases before meals; and leptin, which tells the body when it is hungry and when it is full.  Sleep loss apparently leads to increased ghrelin and decreased leptin -  a “double-whammy” that stimulates appetite.

By the way, a year ago I wrote about a Canadian research study that concluded that too much sleep can cause weight gain.  I guess you just have to figure out how much shut-eye is right for you.

As reported in the October issue of the Women’s Health Advisor newsletter, the study (published in the journal Stroke) followed 93,000 women ages 50-79 for seven years. It found that postmenopausal women who slept nine or more hours a night were 70 percent more likely to suffer a stroke than women who slept seven hours. Women who slept for six or fewer hours a night had a 14 percent higher stroke risk.  So it seems that 7-8 hours of sleep is what we should all wish for.

Too much sleep can cause other problems too. See my earlier blogpost about a Canadian study on the connection between sleep and weight gain.

On average, how many hours of sleep do you get a night?