Causes of insomnia
A decrease in estrogen production leads to irritability and aggressiveness. Some women are prone to depression and constantly feel anxiety and fear. This condition prevents you from falling asleep normally, causing bad dreams and night awakenings.
Insomnia during menopause can be caused by hot flashes. Women experience a feeling of heat throughout the body, temperature and blood pressure increase. The attack is accompanied by chills, heavy sweating, and rapid heartbeat. Similar symptoms are reported by 80% of premenopausal women. Hot flashes can occur up to 20 times a day and last from a few minutes to half an hour. In this state, it is difficult for a woman to sleep.
What are the types of sleep disorders during menopause?
- Apnea – holding your breath during sleep.
- Insomnia – a woman cannot fall asleep for a long time or often wakes up at night.
- Snoring is wheezing breathing during sleep.
- Narcolepsy is characterized by insomnia at night and persistent daytime sleepiness.
- “Restless legs” is a feeling of heaviness, pain, itching or burning in the legs during sleep.
In addition to hormonal imbalances, bad habits, irregular daily routines, and concomitant diseases can cause insomnia.
By hand or washing machine?
To wash clothes by hand, first blot the blood stain with a paper towel. Do not rub, but blot a couple of times to remove excess moisture. When a stain is rubbed, it deepens into the fabric fibers, which creates difficulties for washing. The area of contamination should be rinsed in cold water under low pressure.
To wash in a washing machine, you need to first soak the stain, rinse it under cold water, and then choose a gentle mode with a temperature of up to 40 degrees Celsius. You can use an additional rinse with conditioner.
Drug treatment
If insomnia appears during menopause, what to do, how to return normal sleep? If a person cannot fully rest at night, then during the day he will feel weak, tired, and irritable. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to disruption of metabolic processes and the development of endocrine diseases. Therefore, treating insomnia is very important.
Sedatives (Valerian, Barboval, Fitosed), herbal teas with chamomile, lavender, and lemon balm help eliminate the symptoms of an unbalanced psycho-emotional state. Depressive conditions require consultation with a psychotherapist and the use of antidepressants. The doctor prescribes sedatives and sleeping pills.
To normalize hormonal levels, replacement therapy with estrogen analogues and combined oral contraceptives is carried out. Treatment helps alleviate menopause and reduces the number of hot flashes. As a result, insomnia disappears and the woman’s general well-being improves. Medications are selected by the attending physician, taking into account the severity of menopause symptoms, the patient’s age and the condition of the reproductive organs.
An alternative to hormonal drugs are phytoestrogens made from plant extracts:
- Qi-Clim;
- Climaxan;
- Remens.
These drugs have estrogenic properties and help eliminate the symptoms of menopause and insomnia.
The onset of menopause is often accompanied by inflammation of the bladder, the urge to go to the toilet bothers you around the clock, wakes you up at night and prevents you from falling asleep for a long time due to pain and cutting in the urethra. Cystitis is treated with antibacterial, diuretic and painkillers.
During hot flashes, blood pressure rises and heart rate increases. Sedatives and drugs that lower blood pressure help alleviate the condition. You should not take pills on your own without consulting a doctor. Medicines should be prescribed by a physician or cardiologist after examining the patient.
Consequences for the body
If insomnia is not corrected in time, it can lead to negative consequences. This is especially important for the female body, because menopause significantly weakens its defenses, so if sleep is disturbed, both new diseases can appear and old ones can worsen.
Long-term insomnia leads to the following consequences:
- increased risk of myocardial infarction;
- development of arterial hypertension;
- stroke;
- decreased immunity;
- diabetes mellitus;
- the appearance of excess body weight;
- muscle pain;
- numbness in the limbs; the appearance of a metallic taste in the mouth.
A woman experiencing symptoms of menopause, even without the above-mentioned symptoms, suffers significantly, both physically and mentally. Hormonal changes, aggravated by somatic disorders, lead to prolonged depression and are difficult to treat.
Healthy lifestyle
Menopause and insomnia make women feel uncomfortable. Without a good night's rest during the day, it is difficult to concentrate on work, memory and intellectual abilities deteriorate. Therefore, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for quality sleep.
- Proper nutrition. You need to eat in fractional portions 5-6 times a day, the basis of the diet should be vegetable dishes. It is recommended to limit the consumption of fatty, fried foods, strong coffee and tea. Fresh fruits will provide the body with plant fiber, vitamins and minerals, fermented milk products will restore intestinal microflora, and whole grain cereals will help normalize metabolism. Dinner should be light; fatty dishes add extra stress, force the body to digest them for a long time and cause insomnia.
- Rejection of bad habits. Drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking negatively affect the functioning of the body as a whole, and this is especially evident against the background of hormonal changes.
- To avoid insomnia, try to avoid stress and overwork. An unstable emotional background stimulates the production of the hormone cortisol, which suppresses the secretion of estrogen. At the same time, the symptoms of menopause, nervous system disorders, and hot flashes become more frequent.
- Physical exercise. Sports and active recreation have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the central nervous system and endocrine system, accelerate metabolic processes, and prevent the accumulation of excess body weight.
- Before going to bed, it is recommended to ventilate the room and make bed linen made from natural fabrics. The temperature in the room should not be higher than 20–22°. This will reduce the likelihood of excessive sweating and waking up during the night.
Following simple rules will help you endure menopause more comfortably and reduce the risk of insomnia, night hot flashes and other sleep disorders.
What causes sleep disturbance
Sleep disturbance during menopause is a problem that every third woman faces. The causes of problems during menopause are divided into two types - psychological and hormonal. The psychological factor includes a woman’s excessive anxiety due to changes in her body. Increased anxiety can develop into depression. Poor sleep occurs against a background of emotional instability.
To eliminate the problem, it is necessary to visit a psychotherapist who will help normalize the woman’s emotional state.
There are cases when hormonal changes in the female body cause a problem. This occurs during a period when the body begins to produce less progesterone and estrogen, which are responsible for many important functions of the body, including reproduction. Estrogen takes part in the synthesis of melatonin (sleep hormone), necessary for proper rest at night. During menopause, the amount of this substance decreases to critically low levels.
There are other factors that influence the occurrence of insomnia:
- passive lifestyle, insufficient amount of physical activity;
- overweight;
- abuse of bad habits (tobacco, alcohol);
- excessive consumption of caffeine and energy drinks;
- insufficient time for a good night's rest.
Sleeping pills for treating insomnia
Sleeping pills help normalize sleep; you can buy herbal tablets at the pharmacy:
- Phytosed has a sedative effect, eliminates mental stress, anxiety, improves sleep, memory, mental abilities, and restores the functioning of the nervous system.
- Donormil has hypnotic and sedative properties, shortens the time of falling asleep, prolongs sleep and ensures good rest.
- Motherwort tincture reduces stimulation of the nervous system. The drug does not have a hypnotic effect, but reduces the time it takes to fall asleep, prolongs sleep, and is not addictive. In addition, motherwort helps in the treatment of arterial hypertension.
- Novo-Passit is made on the basis of valerian, lemon balm, St. John's wort, hawthorn, passion flower, hops and elderflower. The drug is prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, nervous disorders, and headaches. Helps relieve chronic fatigue, irritation, and anxiety.
- Persen is a complex herbal remedy that has a sedative effect. Taking tablets improves mood, improves falling asleep in case of insomnia, and does not cause a feeling of drowsiness during the day. Active substances soothe headaches and muscle pain, normalizes blood pressure in vegetative-vascular dystonia.
You should not take medications without first consulting a gynecologist. The doctor will recommend the best drug for insomnia that improves the quality and duration of sleep.
Folk remedies for insomnia during menopause
Non-traditional methods of treating insomnia with folk remedies have earned good reviews. Such recipes are used by women who are contraindicated in taking hormonal medications.
Lavender oil will help relieve tension and relax. You can rub it on your temples before bed, add it to a bath or aroma lamp, or take a massage. The procedure helps get rid of headaches, insomnia, nervous tension, and normalizes blood pressure.
Sleeping infusions:
- Take 2 tablespoons of hop cones, 1 tablespoon of lemon balm, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and leave for 2 hours. Drink the medicine strained, 50 ml 3 times a day before meals.
- Hawthorn fruits (100 g), 2 tablespoons of valerian root, pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and leave overnight, filter in the morning and divide the infusion into 3 doses. The medicine helps calm the nervous system, speeds up falling asleep, and ensures deep sleep.
- Drinking tea with chamomile and orange zest before bed helps with insomnia. The ingredients are poured with hot water, a spoonful of honey is added and drunk warm. The drink helps you fall asleep quickly, relieve irritability and nervous excitement.
- If you are prone to depression, prepare a decoction of St. John's wort and lavender. Herbs are taken in equal proportions (2 tbsp), brewed with boiling water (0.4 l) and left for 2 hours. Then the product is filtered and taken at night, 1 tablespoon.
Treatment of insomnia and other symptoms of menopause should be carried out comprehensively. Taking sleeping pills gives only a temporary effect. To improve your well-being, it is necessary to normalize hormonal levels; changing your lifestyle, increasing physical activity, and proper nutrition will help with this. Replacement therapy is the most effective way to increase the level of sex hormones. Natural preparations include plant phytoestrogens and medicinal herbs.
How to remove blood with stain remover
This option is good in the fight against dried stains.
Use products that are suitable for the type of fabric being stained. Apply them to dirty areas or add them to the water when washing. Strictly follow the instructions on the packages. When washing, set the mode to the minimum water temperature.
Antipyatin soap, as well as stain removers from the brands Amway, Vanish, Udalix, Ushasty Nyan and others, are quite helpful in coping with the problem.