Herballove - Up All Night: How To Recover Your Zzz s During Menopause

Up All Night: How To Recover Your Zzz’s During Menopause

Menopause, let me count the ways you destroy the complaisance of my mother, aunts, grandmas. Hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain, irritability, vaginal dryness, fatigue…the list goes on and on. One of the biggest complaints from women suffering from menopause is the interference with their sleeping habits. One can deal with most things, but without proper sleep, it becomes hard to deal with anything!

Hold On To Your Hormones

The reason menopause engenders so many problems is due to what is happening in the body at the time. Menopause means literally “the cessation of the months”, or roughly, the end of menstruation. About this time, women go from being baby-making machines, to baby watching aunties and grandmas. With this transmogrification comes a change in biology as well, your body gradually stops producing the sex hormones that give you the ability to procreate.

Now, a woman’s body is so closely keyed with these chemicals that it causes a cataclysmic upheaval when they start to disappear. Every negative aspect of menopause is linked with the vanishing of estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone, with the two former being the most influential. Sleep problems tend to be linked with a dearth of progesterone.

Progesterone Panic

Progesterone is an interesting hormone. It is produced in the adrenal gland, along with adrenaline and cortisol. Cortisol is the hormone that creates the fight-or-flight response, but in excess, or in uncalled for situations, it also creates panic attacks. Now, what’s remarkable about progesterone is its link to cortisol, especially during menopause.

The body needs progesterone to create cortisol; it is the base for this chemical. During menopause, the ovaries gradually stop producing progesterone. Thus, when the body needs to create cortisol, it uses all the available progesterone, and then calls for more. This creates hot flashes. When your body realizes there isn’t any more progesterone to be had, it can also trigger a panic attack, burning all the cortisol it’s created, and then calling for even more progesterone.

In this way, a woman is kept up all night, either through hot flashes, panic attacks, or pure adrenaline driven insomnia. How can anyone be expected to last through the decade it might take for menopause to be completed?

Mother’s Little Helper

I prefer to use herbal solutions for issues arising from internal concerns. One I rely on, and constantly suggest to others, is Kava Kava. Known scientifically as Piper methysticum, which translates to intoxicating pepper, the effects include a general soothing sensation, and a calm, restful sleep free of dreams. Its dopamine-increasing abilities impart a pleasant, happy consciousness before sleep occurs.

Kava Kava is also a mild anesthetic, which means that hot flashes won’t drag you back from the land of Nod. The way it works it through it’s specific kavalactones. They seem to precipitate GABA activity, the same network that is affected during tranquilizer use. GABA receptors accept only certain types of chemicals, and when a bond is formed, the result is anywhere from sleepiness to amnesia. In this case, drowsiness is as far as it goes.

More Than Just a Menopause Aid

I recommend Kava Kava to women suffering from insomnia and hot flashes, but also to women suffering from menstrual cramps that prevent them from having restful sleep, or anyone in a situation that precludes a good rest, such as traveling or stress. You can try a simple Kava Kava tea to start, although herbal supplements are also available. It’s really a great way to regain your much needed relaxation, without having to use prescription drugs, or over-the-counter supplements.

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GuideID: 58925

Guide Type: Conocimiento

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