Why does menopause make you sleepy?
If drowsiness and sluggishness persist, menopause may be the cause. When you think of menopause, you may imagine poor physical conditions peculiar to women. However, recent studies have shown that menopausal disorders can occur in women and men. Thus, menopause make you sleepy in both genders.
In this post, we will explain in an easy-to-understand manner the typical symptoms of menopause, the characteristics of male menopause (LOH syndrome), and why menopause make you sleepy.
What are menopausal disorder?
Menopause is a term that refers to the period from the 40s to 50s when the secretion of sex hormones declines. For women, it generally refers to the period before and after menopause when the secretion of the ovarian hormone estrogen decreases. You may have an image of a period peculiar to women for menopause. But it also affects men. For men, menopause occurs after age 40 when testosterone levels in the testicles decrease.
Menopausal disorders are mental and physical disorders that are likely to occur during menopause.
Common symptoms of menopause are called menopausal disorders. The menopausal disorders are very similar to those of autonomic imbalance. Both disorders include physical symptoms such as hot flashes, palpitations, shortness of breath, abnormal sweating, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, frequent urination, and psychiatric symptoms like depression, anxiety, irritability, and sleep disorders.
Menopausal disorder for men is called male menopause (LOH syndrome). Male menopause is characterized by symptoms peculiar to men, such as decreased libido and erectile dysfunction (ED), in addition to the above. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, “Awareness Survey on Menopausal Symptoms and Disorders,” the proportion of men and women with the slightest impact on their daily lives has reached approximately 30%. (*)
*Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. “Awareness Survey on Menopausal Symptoms and Disorders.”
Two causes why menopause make you sleepy
A common symptom of menopause is excessive daytime sleepiness. Especially in women, sleep disorders are common during menopause. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s “2019 National Health and Nutrition Survey Results,” about 40% of women in their 40s and 50s average less than 6 hours of sleep, and sleep time is shorter than before menopause. You can see that in a report of a Japanese health ministry. (*)
Some may wonder, “Why am I sleepy during menopause?” They say that there are two leading causes of why menopause make you sleepy.
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- Hormonal imbalance
- Disruption of the sleep cycle due to aging
During menopause, the secretion of sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone decreases, causing hormonal imbalance. Disturbances in hormone balance lead to disruptions in the autonomic nervous system that regulates the body. Therefore, menopause often make you sleepy.
Menopause is also when the sleep cycle is likely disturbed due to aging. Sleep time decreases with age and the number of awakenings in the middle of sleep increases. The decrease in the number of REM sleep, which affects the quality of sleep, is one of the reasons why menopause make you sleepy.
Human sleep consists of REM sleep, during which you dream, and non-REM sleep, in which you rest your brain. Since REM sleep is the pre-deep sleep phase, a decrease in REM sleep frequency leads to inadequate sleep.
*Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. “Results of the 2019 National Health and Nutrition Survey”.
How to deal with menopause that make you sleepy
Menopause is a disease that can affect anyone regardless of gender. How should I deal with the symptoms of menopause? Here are two ways to deal with menopause.
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- Live a regular life
- Consult an expert
First, it is essential to review your daily lifestyle to improve the autonomic nervous system disorder peculiar to menopause. If you find it difficult to sleep during the day, try the following lifestyle habits to improve the quality of your sleep.
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- Keep wake-up and bedtime consistent
- Soak in the sun every morning
- Keep exercising regularly
- Get relaxed with habits such as reading and stretching before bed
- Do not look at your smartphone or TV screen for a long time before going to bed
- Avoid drinking a nightcap, etc.
When you are unsure, please consider talking to your family doctor. If abnormal sleepiness continues, there may be a hidden cause other than menopause. It is essential to consult a medical institutions.
When menopause make you sleepy, try a natural supplement from Japan.
Juveriente®’s Effisoy, launched in 2016, based on fermented soy bean germ extract has been loved as a natural menopause relief since its launching in 2016.
Its primary function is to boost the weakened synthesis of a hormone precursor, DHEA. It helps the precursor, DHEA, and then help men and women respectively in line with their natural systems. The hormone boost doesn’t provide the only relief from menopausal symptoms. But, it also supports various aging issues and increases metabolism, which leads to weight loss. It is not limited only for menopause people, but also after menopause or older.
Here are some of the real product reviews in our Amazon shop.
“Restful sleep finally!!”, “I Am Now Free of Hot Flashes!!”, “Lifesaver”