8 Soothing Tips to Sleep Better with Menopause Symptoms
In this video, endocrinologist Sonal Chaudhry, MD, discusses why women experience sleep disturbances during menopause—and what they can do about it.
“Difficulty sleeping during menopause is really common,” says Sonal Chaudhry, MD, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health. That’s because changes in hormone levels can trigger menopause symptoms that directly affect your sleep quantity and quality. For example, low levels of progesterone can make it hard to fall and stay asleep, and low estrogen levels can cause hot flashes at night which can keep you up.
Lack of sleep may not only cause you to be tired, irritable, and less inclined to make healthy choices the next day, but it may also make your menopause symptoms worse, says Dr. Chaudhry. Bad sleep quality is also associated with weight gain and can increase your risk for metabolic syndrome. “It’s important to try to get the best sleep you can,” says Dr. Chaudhry.
- Sonal Chaudhry, MDDr. Chaudhry is an Endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
References
Martin, J.L., et al. (2022). Insomnia treatments (beyond the basics). UpToDate.
Office on Women’s Health, US. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021). Menopause symptoms and relief.