Stressed? Hormonal? How to Sleep Through the Night Again
Early Egyptians used spells and incantations to promote sleep. Ancient Roman physician Galen recommended lettuce as a cure for insomnia. Healers throughout the ages depended on sleep-enhancing herbs, some of which are used to this day.
People have been seeking help for insomnia since the dawn of recorded history—and they’re still looking. The CDC reports that at least a third of adults don’t get enough sleep.
Sleep problems affect people of all ages and sexes, but they are especially common in women. Women have a considerably higher risk of stress-related anxiety and depression, which are often accompanied by thoughts and worries that make it difficult to fall asleep. They are also affected by hormonal changes that can disrupt sleep.
Fortunately, there are well-known solutions for calming stressful thoughts and minimizing symptoms of hormonal fluctuations that may be keeping you awake at night.
How Hormones Affect Sleep
Women experience dramatic fluctuations in levels of estrogen and progesterone over the course of their lives. Hormonal changes during the monthly menstrual cycle can cause cramps, mood changes, and other symptoms that may hamper sleep. Pregnancy brings its own set of sleep disruptors, including nausea, frequent urination, and overall discomfort.
Hormone-related sleep problems rev up around age 45, as hormone levels begin to decline. Four in five women experience troublesome symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats that really mess with sleep. These symptoms last for seven to nine years on average, but some women have to deal with them for more than a decade!
Declines in estrogen and progesterone are also linked with an increased risk of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, a serious disorder that interferes with the restorative stages of sleep and is linked with numerous health challenges.
Stress and Anxiousness Disrupt Sleep
Women are also more prone to the ill effects of stress. This is not surprising, since many women are juggling raising a family, maintaining a home, building a career, and other responsibilities—all at the same time.
Studies suggest that women tend to internalize stress, and this can have adverse effects on mental, emotional, and physical health. Chronic stress is characterized by elevated levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol has a profound influence on the body’s circadian rhythms and sleep/wake cycles, and a high level can upset normal sleep cycles, resulting in insomnia and fragmented sleep.
It should be noted that cortisol levels often increase in women after age 40, especially in those who experience severe stress and symptoms of hormone imbalances. Hot flashes, mood changes, etc., are stressful in and of themselves, and the resulting rise in cortisol makes these symptoms even harder to handle. It’s a vicious cycle—but it can be interrupted with botanical therapies.
Siberian Rhubarb for Hormonal Fluctuations
Addressing the fluctuations in estrogen that underlie mid-life sleep issues can make a big difference, not only in insomnia but also in mood swings, hot flashes, and other symptoms. Although hormone replacement therapy is an effective option, many women opt for safe, botanical therapies.
Traditional healers have used herbal remedies, including passionflower, black cohosh, dong quai, red clover, and wild yam, for “female troubles” for thousands of years. You are probably familiar with these botanicals because they are popular ingredients in supplements targeting women’s health.
There’s another herb you need to know about: Siberian rhubarb (Rheum rhaponticum). Studies show that Siberian rhubarb extract, which has been used in Germany for decades, is one of the safest and most effective botanical therapies for helping women deal with hormonal changes.
This was demonstrated in a study of German women who were experiencing hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and other hormone-related symptoms. They were given supplements containing 4 mg of Siberian rhubarb extract—the exact dose in our Nugenix for Women Balance formula to take daily for six months. When they were reevaluated after three months, significant improvements were noted, and after six months, there was a 52% average reduction in overall symptom scores, which included sleep problems, hot flashes, irritability, and depressed mood.
Less Stress, Better Sleep with Ashwagandha
If worries, unwanted thoughts, and other signs of stress are keeping you from getting enough sleep, ashwagandha may be the answer. In fact, the botanical name for ashwagandha is Withania somnifera (L.), and somnifera is derived from the Latin word for sleep-inducing.
A 2021 meta-analysis of five studies examining the effects of ashwagandha on insomnia concluded that, compared with placebo, ashwagandha extract had a significant effect on improving sleep. The most effective dose was 600 mg a day.
But that’s not all. Ashwagandha is an adaptogen, a class of botanicals known for helping the body and brain deal with the adverse effects of stress. Compounds in ashwagandha modulate stress hormones and decrease elevated levels of cortisol, resulting in improvements in a broad range of symptoms associated with stress.
Clinical trials testing the efficacy of ashwagandha have found significant improvements in levels of anxiousness, fatigue, sleeplessness, low mood, irritability, focus, and food cravings. The greatest benefits were found with daily doses of 500–600 mg of ashwagandha extract, and you get a full 600 mg in every dose of Balance.
Adopt a Bedtime Ritual for Better Sleep
In addition to taking supportive supplements, find a bedtime routine that works for you and stick with it. Here are a few suggestions:
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulates after noon and excessive alcohol closer to bedtime.
- Make your bedroom a sleep sanctuary, as dark, quiet, and comfortable as possible. Make sure it’s cool. Research suggests that the ideal sleeping temperature is 60°–66°F.
- Wind down with relaxation practices. In addition to meditation, yoga, and other relaxation/breathing practices, journaling before bed helps clear your mind of distracting thoughts.
- Two hours before bedtime, turn down the lights. Light, especially blue light, suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices emit a lot of blue light, so use a blue light-blocking app in the evenings.
- Try to go to bed and get up at about the same time every day. Put your phone, TV, and other devices to bed at the same time—preferably in another room or in the do-not-disturb mode.
- Take your sleep supplements about 30 minutes before bedtime. Although melatonin, vitamin B6 (which is involved in the production of melatonin), valerian, lavender, chamomile, etc., are effective sleep aids, ashwagandha and Siberian rhubarb—especially when taken together in Balance—are highly recommended for women who are dealing with stress and hormonal changes.
Recap
There is a reason why we spend a third of our lives sleeping. Like air, water, and food, it is critical for our survival. Restorative sleep bolsters the immune system and protects against heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. It is vital for optimal brain function, a sharp memory, and a reduced risk of cognitive decline later in life. Studies suggest that getting enough restful sleep even increases longevity.
If you are having trouble falling or staying asleep, get serious about finding a solution. Develop a bedtime routine that facilitates sleep. Take Balance daily to help with stress, anxious thoughts, hot flashes, and other hormone-related symptoms.
Get started today and begin reaping the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of restful sleep. As the old Irish proverb says, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.”