Did you know that chronic insomnia can cause weight gain?
Did you also know that chronic insomnia can raise blood pressure and contribute to heart disease?
How about increasing your risk for diabetes or a stroke? Not to mention the general malaise, sluggishness and overall feelings of fatigue that accompanies it as well.
Chronic insomnia is a serious problem for many women in perimenopause. Not only can it zap every ounce of energy from your body, making your days feel like centuries, but, it can also exacerbate all of the other symptoms of perimenopause making you absolutely miserable.
What Causes Insomnia in Perimenopause?
Trying to nail down exactly what causes insomnia in perimenopause is the ultimate conundrum.
That is because perimenopause symptoms are so synergistically interwoven together that it is impossible to isolate any of them.
For example, if hot flashes and night sweats were the only symptoms of perimenopause that interrupted sleep, the solution would be simple–tackle the hot flashes and night sweats.
But, depression and mood swings also contribute to insomnia in perimenopause. Or if your adrenal glands are fatigued, ( as they are for many women in perimenopause) the perpetual cycle of stress hormones that are released, such as cortisol, contribute to insomnia as well.
The imbalance of estrogen and progesterone during perimenopause contributes to insomnia, as can hypothyroidism, another common condition in perimenopause.
Chronic insomnia in perimenopause is a cycle that becomes so self-perpetuating; eventually you can no longer tell which came first, the chicken or the egg.
Magnolia Miller is the founder and owner of Pink Zinnia Publishing & Health Communications, LLC, where she is a freelance health & medical writer.
She holds a professional certification as a healthcare consumer advocate in women's health, and is currently conducting graduate research in the field of healthcare consumer advocacy with a focus on women's health issues in perimenopause, menopause & post menopause.
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Thanks for this great summary of basically ALL the synergistic, common symptoms and issues of peri-menopause, but through the lense of insomnia. The whole body, holographic experience known as menopause. Here’s to making it through ladies!