CRYING OUT FOR SLEEP
THE PROBLEM: Although a lifelong insomniac, I’m sleeping worse than ever. It’s often 2am before I nod off, and I regularly wake, worrying about my ever-expanding to-do list. Herbal teas and over-the-counter remedies haven’t helped. I’ve been prescribed sleeping pills before — in my 30s — but I know they’re not a long-term solution.
Sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley says the deep restorative phase of our sleep cycle — when blood pressure drops and blood supply to muscles increases — reduces from several hours when we are children to as little an hour a night in our 40s (it’s unclear why).
‘This means we can feel exhausted even if we’re getting the same amount of sleep, and we’re more easily woken,’ he adds.
In the decade before the menopause (the average age of which is 51), there is a drop in the hormone progesterone — which normally increases the production of sleepaiding brain chemical GABA — and other hormonal changes that affect the body’s temperature control. ‘To have a good night’s sleep we need to lose one degree of our body temperature. If that is increased (which can happen in the years preceding the menopause), you’ll find it more difficult,’ says Dr Stanley. Middle-age weight gain can increase snoring and interrupt sleep, while weaker bladders (common in over40s) mean we wake more to go to the loo.
HOW TO FIX IT: If possible, sleep alone in a cool, quiet room, says Dr Stanley, ‘I have found 36 per cent of sleep disturbance is caused by your partner.’ Often, at 2am, I move to our spare room — the change of scene and space from my husband who, annoyingly, falls asleep straight away, seems to help. Cut out your afternoon coffee, as our bodies metabolise caffeine more slowly with age, and do some exercise: studies show a moderate aerobic workout can help us sleep better because it reduces stress, a common cause of sleep problems. Don’t use your smartphone in the bedroom. It emits blue light that suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Use a separate alarm clock instead.