Women and insomnia

Sleep is important to your health. Insomnia can affect women mentally and physically. Insomnia impact can be cumulative.

Without restful sleep, health cannot prevail. Recent scientific studies show that reductions in the quantity and/or quality of sleep contribute to premature aging.

During a woman’s menstrual cycle the hormone progesterone decreases. This would be quiet fine except this progesterone promotes sleep. The result in this reduction is sleeplessness.

Progesterone in the brain, does a soothing effect. It can have the same effect as Valium or Xanax or some anesthetic agents. It also decreases migraines. It can promote sleep and counteract edginess, anxiety and panic. It evens moods. In excess, it can cause depression.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a tricky condition to identify. Mood swings, tender breasts, food cravings, fatigue, irritability, depression and insomnia are among the most common symptoms for women. What ties these seemingly unrelated problems together is that they affect you only in the days before your monthly period.

Insomnia can affect not only your energy level and mood, but also your health as well because sleep helps bolster your immune system. Fatigue, at any age, leads to diminished mental alertness and concentration. Lack of sleep caused by insomnia is linked to accidents both on the road and on the job.

Still, you don't have to let these problems control your life. Treatments and lifestyle adjustments can help you reduce or manage insomnia. An easy lifestyle change can make your night much more pleasant.

By the way women over 50 suffering from insomnia is most likely the result of aging and not related to being female.

The use of over-the-counter antihistamines for sleep is a major health problem for women, especially to the elderly; since these drugs can cause confusion, they can promote accidents. It may interfere with bladder function and cause unpleasant drying of mucous membrane. Over-the-counter sleeping pills may be more dangerous then we have recognized.

First let’s see what you should NOT do?

Don’t smoke. Nicotine is a stimulant.

Be careful taking over-the-counter-drug which often disrupt sleep.

Limit caffeine and alcohol intake.

Alcohol, while it may initially make you feel sleepy, can cause unrestful sleep and frequent awakenings.

Don’t go to sleep angrily. (Read how to change it at ACTION PAGE)

So what can you do to help yourself? Luckily a lot.

Expose yourself to bright light preferably sunlight soon after awakening.

Keep your bedroom dark while you are asleep.

These two actions will help to regulate your body’s natural biological clock. (Read more about this in this web site at Circadian rhythm) Get up at the same time each day.

Exercise regularly but not in the evening.

Go to bed only when you are feeling tired and sleepy.

At night do a security check - but only once!

Have a warm bath, do some yoga or take a light walk before turning in.

Make sure that your bed is clean and comfortable. (More information about it on this website. The headings: Memory foam pillow, Silk duvet and sleep.)

You can do one more thing.

Have your iron levels checked. Iron deficient women tend to have more problem sleeping. Go to a Naturopathic Clinic and ask for a mineral analysis. They will clip a small (small, I said) amount of hair off your head and will send it off to analyze. The result will tell you what minerals do you have plenty of and what are you in short supply.

(An interesting comment. After Napoleon’s hair was analyzed, they found the amount of arsenic was 38 times higher than normal. That lead to speculation Napoleon was poisoned.)

Most important. When you are in a bed park your thoughts. See my suggestion at ACTION PAGE

If you are pregnant, you may find good suggestions on this site. http://www.mamashealth.com/pregnancy/bedrest.asp