02/14/2025
If we want to be refreshed and enjoy the beauty of the day we need to make sure we are getting our sleep.
I personally don’t always feel refreshed when I wake up and I am really trying hard to figure out exactly what I need to do in order to continue doing the things that I love to do… like mountain biking with my kids.
This picture was taking on my birthday this past year. I will be …gulp….exiting the 40’s. Oh my goodness! Eekkk! But that’s ok. I am still enjoying all the amazing things I enjoy doing.
And it is all the more reason to make the changes I need in order to continue the activities I enjoy so much as well as exploring and adventuring with my family.
😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱😴🥱
Ok, so here we go!
All right ladies, the most important thing that you can do for your body as you enter Menopause is…..GET SLEEP .
Sleep 😴 💤 sleep😴 💤 sleep😴 💤 sleep 😴 💤
Should I say it again?…..Sleep…. there, I said it.
(Gentlemen if you are reading this go share it with your wife or a friend who needs some guidance in this area.)
Sleep is so important. It is the key to managing menopause symptoms and as well as loosing weight. And of course there are so many other things that we should be doing but for now… let’s just focus on….sleep.
Many women don't have a full understanding of what is going on inside our bodies as it relates to our hormones. Our endocrine system is really quite complex. Our hormones change!
The reality we have to face is, (that is if we want to feel better) is making lifestyle changes in order to accommodate hormonal changes. We need to give grace to ourselves and allow our bodies to heal from the inflammation that has been accumulated from lifestyle choices. We need to be nice to it.
Women who have chosen to make those changes have spoken of how good their bodies have felt by doing the right exercises and eating the right foods and doing what their bodies need, and getting adequate sleep. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “Am I willing to listen and make changes in my lifestyle to accommodate more sleep?
When it comes to weight gain most women focus on two things…diet and exercise. But what about sleep? Why are we not focusing on sleep for weight loss?
Let's dig into physiology a bit. When women aren't sleeping insulin remains high as well as our chronic stress hormone called cortisol.
Cortisol prepares the body by increasing blood sugar in order to provide an energy source to muscles. Cortisol is released in stressful situations so we can respond to a perceived threat quickly. It shouldn’t being staying high while we are sleeping. But you see, when we are stressed and not calming ourselves down, cortisol remains high and slows the production of insulin. (Are you with me?).
Ok so now that cortisol levels are high while you are sleeping, insulin production is slowed down and the glucose (your bodies main source of energy) is high. Insulin is not being allowed to do it’s job of allowing the glucose to enter your cells so that the energy can be used. Basically it’s like insulin’s key has been taken away that it uses to unlock the cell in order for glucose to enter.
Ok, so now where is all that sugar hanging out? Take a guess……Your blood stream! Not good. Cause guess what? The blood sugar gets stored in your body as fat. Thus leading to ….WEIGHT GAIN! Oh and a few other things. But I won’t go into those right now.
So what to do? Well of course get sleep! But we have to create an environment where melatonin and Adenosine can do its work. Melatonin is what gets us to sleep and Adenosine is what keeps us sleep. If you are not sleeping, your body is not healing, thus inflammation remains high in your body. When inflammation remains high, cortisol levels remain high. And do you know what happens when your cortisol levels stay high at night? Your body doesn’t burn the fat that it needs to.
Did you know that from 2-4 am is the prime time to burn fat while you are sleeping?
In addition, not sleeping disrupts leptin and gherlin levels, those are the ones that tell you when you are hungry and full. This effects us during the day and we end up eating when we don’t necessarily need to or eating and craving the wrong things because our brains are tired.
As you can see there is a lot going on in your body. One thing effects the other thing, thus resulting in another response. IT REALLY IS QUITE SIMPLE….NOT!
The truth is-menopause weight gain is tricky to navigate, especially if women are not sleeping. When Dr. Wendy Sweet works with her clients, she tells them if you want to loose weight then you need to mange your sleep. This is key for any stage of life, but really matters in menopause. After stopping gaining weight the next is managing sleep.
We need to create an environment where you can sleep. Here are some very practical things to start with.
- Limit blue light 3 hours before going to bed. If you can’t do this maybe at least start with some blue light glasses
- Do not eat after 8:00 pm. It is important to allow your body to rest for at least 12 hours of eating so it can focus on repairing your body.
- Lastly create a calm environment before bed. Listen to music that is calming. Meditate and give your worries over to God.
- Limit vicious exercise close to bedtime
These are just a few. If you have sleep management ideas that have worked for you, please do share. We could all benefit.
On a personal note my big focus for managing my own sleep is allowing my body to heal from inflammation. I have achey joints and muscles and it would be really nice to improve how my body feels.
I know this was a lot but the thing is Menopause is a lot. I want to just create an awareness of what we can be doing for our bodies to live life abundantly.
