Day 26: What To Do When You Have Insomnia/Night Sweats

When you can’t sleep, the night can feel like it’s never going to end. Your thoughts turn to sleep, why you can’t sleep, worrying if you’ll fall asleep…your body is exhausted and still you’re wide awake. You’d give anything for a good night’s sleep.

Insomnia is not unique to women going through menopause. In fact, over 60% of us experience significant problems with sleep. One of the main culprits for us girls? Our good friend, the night sweat.

Night sweats and insomnia go hand-in-hand. Night sweats wake you up out of a sound sleep. They’re anxiety provoking. Now you’re agitated and restless and can’t get back to sleep. Worry about sleeping sets in. When it happens over and over, it becomes one of those vicious cycles.

There’s good news for us tired, sweaty girls! You don’t have to lay there worrying whether the Sandman will ever return. There are things you can do to shift your focus away from the worry, encourage relaxation and get you back in the sleep game.

One powerful tool is your sleep hygiene plan. Keeping your room cool, quiet and comfortable can go a long way in soothing you when nights get rough. Here’s a pro tip – keep a cloth in an ice bucket by the bed. Sometimes a chilled towel can soothe you like nothing else. Allow the night sweat to pass. Cool off. Change clothes if you need to. Sometimes being comfortable again is all you need to get back to sleep.

If you find you’re struggling to get back to sleep, even with a comfortable sleep space, listen to what’s happening internally. Are you feeling agitated? Frustrated? Worried about sleeping? These things will prevent you from going to sleep. Dealing with insomnia is part physical comfort, part shutting down those negative, self-defeating thoughts.

If you find yourself struggling, try staying calm. Acknowledge that the night sweats happen. Just like dealing with daytime hot flashes, it’s important to keep night sweats in perspective. They are NOT catastrophic. They’re just annoying. They happen. You can give them a mental nod and allow them to pass on by.

If you don’t easily fall back to sleep, get out of bed. Tossing and turning in bed only feeds agitation and anxiety. It also creates an association between the bed and not sleeping.

Find a dim quiet spot to sit quietly. You don’t want your brain to think it’s morning. You can try a Quick Relief deep breathing exercise on this app. Those few minutes can help you slow your thinking and calm down.

If you find yourself ruminating on negative thoughts and worries, replace those thoughts with more positive, soothing ones. Journaling can really help here. Remember from your course on hot flashes, anxious thinking feeds our self-doubt and fears. Give yourself permission to embrace your strength. Release the fear. They do stop. You will make it through. And you are ok.