6 Things People Over 50 Should Know About Optimizing Sleep

3. Addressing Hormonal Changes Can Help Relieve Sleep Issues in Menopause and Beyond Menopause affects more than reproductive health. For many women, declining estrogen, which helps regulate body temperature, and progesterone, which has sleep-promoting effects, can contribute to night sweats , nighttime awakenings, and difficulty falling asleep.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629975f503b-a5df-47b2-9f27-3e93411d530f Mood changes and other menopause-related symptoms can further disrupt sleep.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976294625b28a-53d5-492f-aed9-7d724d63472a And these sleep issues may persist years after your final menstrual period.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629aae979d7-a02f-4152-9253-cf5d6dc5fcd9 “Often what happens is that hormonal changes and other symptoms, like hot flashes, first cause insomnia to develop during menopause,” says Philip Gehrman, PhD , a professor of clinical psychology in psychiatry at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and a behavioral sleep medicine research expert who has researched sleep disorders in older adults. “But then the insomnia takes on a life of its own, persisting into the postmenopausal period.” Dr. Gehrman suggests tailoring sleep strategies to symptoms. For night sweats ,  » More Info >>>