If you’re struggling to sleep during menopause, you’re not alone. Between night sweats, 3am wakeups, and anxious thoughts that just won’t switch off — quality sleep can feel like a distant dream.
As Australia’s leading sleep expert, I’ve worked with hundreds of women navigating this exact stage. By reducing pre-bed cortisol, balancing fluctuating hormones through chrononutrition and more, you actually can get a good nights sleep - as you’ll soon know.
2. Why Menopause Affects Sleep
According to the Sleep Foundation, up to 61% of women in perimenopause experience insomnia symptoms — and for many, it’s more than just occasional restlessness.
Menopause doesn’t just change your hormones — it changes your sleep architecture - you spend more time in light sleep, less in deep sleep, and you’re more likely to wake through the night.
As your oestrogen declines, your ability to regulate body temperature weakens, which is why you may wake up drenched in sweat.
Lower progesterone can lead to heightened anxiety and a racing mind, which is why you wake at 3am too - cortisol naturally fluctuates through the night, and peaks at 3am. If your baseline levels are too high - from anxiety - you’ll probably wake up.
Good news is though - when we know the problem, we can find the solution.
3. Olivia’s Proven Bedtime Ritual for Menopausal Sleep
Here’s the step-by-step nighttime routine I recommend — based on neuroscience, hormonal changes, and behavioural sleep psychology.
1. Block blue light
Wear blue light blocking glasses from 930pm… at the latest. Turn off bright lights too and instead, use red night lights. This helps regulate melatonin and prevent cortisol spikes.
2. Add magnesium and adaptogens
A magnesium glycinate supplement can calm the nervous system and reduce night-time wakefulness. Paired with ashwagandha, it can also lower cortisol and reduce menopause-related anxiety.
3. Diffuse lavender oil
Lavender helps shift the brain into a slower brainwave state - theta. This helps you feel more calm and sleepy - great before bed, great if you wake through the night too.
4. Cool your sleep space
Hot flushes are no match for a bedroom kept between 18 degrees. Use breathable sheets in a 400 thread count, a cooling mattress topper and cooling pyjamas in natural fibres - think bamboo, linen, silk.
5. Wind-down mindset ritual
Take 10 minutes to journal or meditate — particularly helpful if anxiety or overthinking are waking you up during the night.
6. No phone zone
Set an alarm to put your phone away one hour before bed - ideally at 930, if not before. Screens are stimulating and delay melatonin release, particularly problematic if you’re already hormonally prone to poor sleep.
7. Eye mask and earplugs
Light and noise sensitivity often heightens during midlife. Blocking external stimuli helps support uninterrupted deep sleep.
8. If snoring is an issue…
Hormonal shifts can relax throat muscles and increase snoring or disrupted breathing during menopause — even for women who never snored before. If so, Happy Sleep can help - keeping the airway open can improve sleep quality, without you lifting a finger.
Just remember…
Menopause may challenge your sleep, but it doesn’t need to define it. You’re always in control - and I’m here to help you every step of the way.
