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Ep 14: The 3AM Club - Why Am I Not Sleeping?!
50 Plays2 months ago
If you’re lying awake at night asking yourself, “Why can’t I sleep?”- you’re not alone. In this episode, we dig into why sleep can become such a struggle in perimenopause.
We explore the hormonal shifts that wreak havoc on sleep, including:
- Progesterone decline – less of the “calming hormone” makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
- Estrogen decline – hot flashes, night sweats, and lighter, more fragmented rest.
- Blood sugar spikes – how late-night wine, sugar, or refined carbs disrupt sleep.
- Cortisol vs. melatonin – that “wired but tired” 2–4am wake-up call.
You’ll also learn the foundational habits that set the stage for better rest…simple but powerful shifts like creating a calming bedtime routine, making your bedroom a true sleep sanctuary, and committing to consistent wind-down practices.
Whether you’re tossing, turning, or just curious about why your sleep isn’t what it used to be, this episode will leave you with clarity, tools, and hope that better sleep is possible.
Where to find us:
IG @whatsmyageagain.podcast or email us at: wmaapod@gmail.com
Where to find Tanya:
IG @tlcholistic / FB @tlcholistic
Book with Tanya: https://tlcholistic.janeapp.com/locations/tlc-holistic
Join the TLC Community: https://www.patreon.com/tlcholistic
Where to find Kim:
IG @kimdesmarais.nutrition /FB @KimDesmarais
Book with Kim: Complimentary Connect Call
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'What's My Age Again' Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to What's My Age Again, the realest podcast for women who are done chasing trends and ready to feel empowered. Hi, I'm Kim. And I'm Tanya, holistic nutritionists and childhood best friends who've been there, done that, and bought the collagen.
00:00:16
Speaker
more than once. Each week we provide actionable steps that you can start today to help you thrive through every decade to come. We're cutting through the wellness noise to bring you honest conversations about aging, hormones, health, beauty, mindset, and everything in between.
00:00:33
Speaker
You see, we're also on a mission to age gracefully one WTF moment at a time. Backed by research and real life, we're here to share what actually works, what's a waste of time, and how to truly thrive through the messy, magical midlife transition.
00:00:49
Speaker
We're so happy you're here. Let's dive in. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to What's My Age again. hi Tanya. Hey, Kim. How are you? I'm good. We're in week two September already.
00:01:04
Speaker
It still feels like summer for you. I'm watching your Instagram and it looks like you're getting your summer now. We are finally getting our summer now. i am so happy about that. It visually looks like fall and definitely a little bit of smell of fall in the air, but with summer weather. So I am not complaining one bit. Whoa. Soak up every minute.
00:01:23
Speaker
Soak up every single second. Okay.
Main Topic Introduction: Sleep Issues
00:01:26
Speaker
We wanted to get right into things today because we have a packed episode for you. One of the top questions that we have been getting to focus like or the topics that you are sending us as a suggestion for our podcast is sleep.
00:01:44
Speaker
Sleep, sleep, sleep. Everybody is requesting sleep and we get it. We get it. And it was so funny because Tanya and I were talking about sleep and I was like, honestly, Tanya, it's so crazy sleep We have our babies. Well, some of us have babies and we can't sleep because they're waking us up every two, three hours.
00:02:04
Speaker
And then all of a sudden they grow up and all of a sudden perimenopause hits and then we just can't sleep.
Personal Experiences with Sleep and Perimenopause
00:02:09
Speaker
like It's like a decade of sleep. And I was like listening to Kim. I was listening to her and I'm like,
00:02:17
Speaker
my god That sounds terrible. Absolutely terrible. Moms, I salute you. It literally sounds horrendous. But yeah, i mean, nothing probably feels more frustrating exactly now. You don't have babies wake you up in the night and you're like, ting.
00:02:31
Speaker
Why am I up at 3 a.m.? m Why can't I sleep? And we're going to dive into that right now. So we want to talk about... Some of the things during this time, during perimenopause, that can likely be the culprits, the root causes, shall we say, behind the inability to sleep and why your sleep, A, has changed.
00:02:58
Speaker
And why your sleep fluctuates. And sometimes you sleep well and sometimes you don't. So I think we should dive in right now. And I think we should start with talking about um declining progesterone. And I do want to preface this.
00:03:12
Speaker
It's not necessary, but if you haven't listened to our hormones, podcast 101 part one and part two, maybe go back and listen to that first because we go into a little bit more depth about these key players, these hormones. is that Sure. And it's super helpful to understand what these hormones are doing in our body.
00:03:31
Speaker
Yes, for sure. Yeah. Great point, Tanya. So, well, first of all, what progesterone is doing in our body is it is declining um in our bodies. And progesterone, we have talked about this before, it's often called that soothing hormone, that calming hormone. So when we think about it, it's part of soothing a mind, soothing the body and lulling us into a sleep every night. 100%.
00:03:56
Speaker
one hundred percent And Yeah, and actually, if you have listened to the last podcast, progesterone is actually typically one ah the first hormone that declines as we're entering perimenopause. So some of your first symptoms could be that you are have a difficulty sleeping or you're more anxious because as Tanya said, it is the calming hormone.
00:04:20
Speaker
So with that, as it declines during perimenopause, what are we noticing? We're noticing that it is more difficult for us to turn off. You know what I mean?
00:04:32
Speaker
Shut down kind of thing. to get to sleep. um And as well, not only issues with falling asleep, we can notice more of a restless sleep because we have maybe more of that monkey mind, the busy thoughts, the running through our day, the what ifs, the racing thoughts, and also definitely that link to an increased feeling of anxiety or overwhelm, especially when we're trying to shut her down for the day.
00:04:58
Speaker
Absolutely. I have a lot of clients that talk about that. It's very, very common. Yeah, so that is one of the one of the culprits, a thousand percent.
Hormonal Impacts on Sleep: Progesterone and Estrogen
00:05:08
Speaker
And then what do you think goes hand in hand with progesterone?
00:05:11
Speaker
No quiz, but estrogen. So we're lucky that during this magical time of life, both are declining. So estrogen, we talked more about it in um our previous episodes on the 101, but estrogen is that juicy, luxurious hormone.
00:05:30
Speaker
um And it also helps to regulate body temperature. It helps to regulate our feel-good hormones, serotonin, um and a big one helps to regulate melatonin, which we're going to talk about in detail um in a moment.
00:05:44
Speaker
And these things, body temperature, serotonin, melatonin, they're all key for our sleep quality. A hundred percent. And you talked quickly about body temperature. So again, hot flashes, which is probably one of the most talked about symptoms of perimenopause, night sweats, not every woman gets them, but some really suffer for them from them.
00:06:06
Speaker
And that leads us to waking up in the middle of the night, you know, some soaked bed sheets, some just feeling warmer and uncomfortable, but you know,
00:06:18
Speaker
Absolutely. And I can actually, sorry to interrupt, attest to that. I am not having hot flashes and I'm not having like night sweats.
00:06:29
Speaker
But if you call my husband and say, are you sleeping with the fan on every single night? He's going to go, absolutely. Even when it's cold. ahha So for me right now, actually, um in my personal journey, my estrogen is definitely dipping. And what will wake me up some nights, because my hormones will fluctuate, is that I'm hot.
00:06:52
Speaker
So it's simply for me, I'm waking up because I'm warm. And that's never happened to me before. I used to sleep, you know, Kim at the sleepovers. I was in like a duvet with a blanket on top, like a cocoon around my neck. And like, that's how I liked it. But now I have to...
00:07:08
Speaker
kick the blankets off, you know, for a little bit, my body does cool down and I do go back to sleep. But the problem is sometimes because of that combination with low progesterone, okay, my body is cool. And I'm like, what am I making for dinner tomorrow? Did I do this?
00:07:23
Speaker
So it's that combination then of the monkey mind and that rising temperature that can be difficult for a lot of us. A hundred percent, Tanya, a hundred percent. Okay. Tell me more about proestrogen.
00:07:34
Speaker
So I, yeah, I can, because this is happening to me and it's so frustrating. So lighter sleep and more fragmented sleep. So this is one thing that I've noticed in myself as well. I used to sleep like the dead. Like there's a time, i am not lying, when we were living in Georgetown, was don't There was a fire at the house. This is not great, but the house across the street burnt to the ground. Wes was out. The whole neighborhood, Kim, the whole neighborhood was outside.
00:08:05
Speaker
The house burning to the ground. Our bedroom was basically right on the street. We're in like a 1950s war home. So like I'm right in the action. The sirens, whatever, slept through the whole thing. Oh my gosh. Like literally slept through the whole entire thing.
00:08:19
Speaker
So now- That's terrible story, but like, goals of sleep. Like every woman listening is probably like, my God, i could sleep through the like, tiniest noise that my child makes or my husband makes at night.
00:08:36
Speaker
And I'm with you now, ladies. That's my goals. Those past me, that's my current goals now. So my my sleep's a lot lighter now. I wake up more often, as I said.
00:08:47
Speaker
And um exactly, my dog getting up, even shaking and kind of repositioning himself or maybe my husband moving. It wakes me and it's frustrating. And for a lot of us, um we can definitely...
00:08:59
Speaker
feel not rested in the morning and it's, it's super frustrating. And that could be, yeah. but as Declining estrogen could be a culprit in terms of absolutely. Or at least part of it. You know what I mean? At least part of the
The Role of Blood Sugar in Sleep Quality
00:09:13
Speaker
packet. And another culprit can be a completely different hormone, um, that we will be talking about in detail in the next coming podcast as well.
00:09:21
Speaker
Um, insulin. who Huge one. Right? Absolutely. and i think we're going to, exactly as Tanya said, we're going to have an entire podcast on blood sugar.
00:09:32
Speaker
but Insulin is massive when it comes to um supporting sleep and blood sugar is massive when supporting sleep. When your blood sugar crashes, it can wake you up at night because what happens when our blood sugar crashes, our cortisol will increase those stress hormones inside our body. It's like our body's emergency system.
00:09:53
Speaker
Your blood sugar needs to be in a balanced form. Your body wants it to be in a certain level. So if it crashes um in the middle of the night, your emergency system like cortisol and adrenaline will kick up to bring that blood sugar back. um And what happens to you? You can wake up.
00:10:10
Speaker
Perhaps you felt a racing heart at night, anxiety or hunger cravings. Those could be signs of a little bit of a blood sugar imbalance. That is such a good way to explain it, Kim, the emergency alert system going off.
00:10:24
Speaker
Such a good way to explain it because insulin and cortisol are directly related. So exactly when the insulin goes down, your body's like, oh my God, like we have to bring it back up and cortisol spikes. So um amazing yeah way to put it in. And I think this is why what I've learned recently as well um is that late night sugar, alcohol, refined carbs, they hit harder in this stage of life.
00:10:49
Speaker
Kim, I don't know which podcast we talked about it, but when I tell you that we used to kill a box of Kraft dinner, Kathy Nunes chocolate chip cookies, some leftovers for pizza Nova in the stove, just perfect room temp and probably, I don't know, a pop before bed and sleep.
00:11:07
Speaker
That's what used to happen. Also, while having a lot of alcohol in our system. Oh my goodness. Now? No. It's a It's a big difference about what we are consuming in the latter hours after dinner and before bed. Oh, 100%, Tanya. It's absolutely, some ah some women, including myself, you have to, I got to the point where I had to decide too, like, do I want to have that glass of wine or do I want to sleep tonight?
00:11:31
Speaker
That's how much alcohol and and a lot of it is the sugar and the alcohol um affects your sleep. But it is true. And I think I've talked about this before. I wear the Oura ring. Yeah.
00:11:42
Speaker
And I can see my sleep results. I love tracking my sleep and learning about what affects my sleep. um And when you eat late at night, your um heart rate doesn't go down completely. Like it goes down later in the night, which means because your body's working at digestion, your heart rate is elevated.
00:12:03
Speaker
So you don't get into that deep restorative sleep that your body needs. And so you wake up feeling more tired. And then the same thing with alcohol, it spikes that blood sugar or or the the sugar or alcohol spikes your blood sugar. And then you eventually get that blood sugar crash, middle of the night, you're waking up with low blood sugar.
00:12:26
Speaker
A thousand percent. And similarly, i don't have the Oura Ring myself, but it's so true. And I can track it so being so body aware and living in my body.
00:12:36
Speaker
I know if I have that little square of chocolate right before bed, and I sometimes still do, i literally will most likely wake up in the night. So it's absolutely fascinating you know to be able to track things through the Oura Ring, through being body aware, a combination of the both. Like,
00:12:52
Speaker
it's it's right there in front of us.
Cortisol and Melatonin: The Sleep Balance
00:12:54
Speaker
You know what I mean? We have the messages right there in front of us ah what can be disrupting our sleep. It's, you know, fascinating to me. um And another thing we talked about that increased cortisol, you know, when insulin drops, cortisol spikes.
00:13:10
Speaker
Well, because our hormones are all besties who are playing a game of telephone and talking to each other and all affecting each other and telling one another what to do when that cortisol goes up.
00:13:21
Speaker
The other problem with that is that our melatonin, levels decline because these two hormones, cortisol and melatonin, they literally work like a child, like teeter totter.
00:13:33
Speaker
When one is high, one is low, right? So that becomes a problem. Cortisol is high and melatonin is low. And to make it really nutshell I like to think of um melatonin as that nighttime cozy tea to lull us to sleep and cortisol as whatever you have, that strong pot of coffee, that matcha that wakes us up.
00:13:58
Speaker
It's not great. your analogies, Tanya. It's not really great when the coffee pot's brewing at 3 a.m. m yeah You know what I mean? Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And like Tanya said, those fluctuating hormones, and I think in the last podcast, your analogy was dominoes, which I also loved.
00:14:16
Speaker
um can increase that cortisol. So that increased cortisol, obviously, you know, what Tanya was saying with that seesaw cus can cause decreased melatonin, which can create that. If you're feeling that sort of like wired, but tired, like you're but you're exhausted, but you're wired, um that could be cortisol. Wow.
00:14:38
Speaker
I have so many people tell me that. A lot of my friends actually, like when we're chatting because of the time change, right? So here I'm like ah getting sleepy at 8.30 and I'm talking to my friends and I'm like, girl, you gotta go.
00:14:51
Speaker
It's 10.30 there. And the, you know what I mean? A lot of times, like, I know I'm like, I feel so exhausted. I'm laying in my bed, but my brain is wired and that's a sure sign of that.
00:15:02
Speaker
um And then again, coupled with ta-ting, waking up between two and four, because hello, your cortisol coffee pot, it's brewing, it's offering you a cup and you don't want it at that time, right?
00:15:13
Speaker
No, it's a sign that we really need to support our adrenals. And absolutely, which we're going to touch upon for sure. And that lower melatonin, again, also means less deep, less restorative sleep, and not just like tacks onto the fatigue the next day, you know, the low energy.
00:15:32
Speaker
Absolutely right. And Tanya, the last thing before we move on to supporting your sleep, which I know you're all waiting for, this sounds again like doom and gloom, but there's so many ways that we can support
Gut Health and Sleep Quality
00:15:45
Speaker
sleep. It's not all doom and gloom, but one of the, what and maybe this is even foundational in terms of you know, um nervous system, but also gut health, you know, and and and it's not just in perimenopause, it's anytime.
00:16:01
Speaker
um Poor gut health. can lead to poor sleep for so many different ways. Number one, neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA, we talked about GABA earlier, are created in our gut.
00:16:15
Speaker
So if we if we have poor gut health, we're not creating those essential neurotransmitters. um We also, you know, If we have um disrupted gut, we have increased cortisol, which affects our melatonin, as Tanya talked about earlier.
00:16:32
Speaker
um So it's so important to dig deep and and support your gut health. And you're so right, Kim, at any age, you know, starting your kids on probiotics and at all of the ages. And then especially again, as we're getting into this perimenopausal age, because we've had more time around the block.
00:16:53
Speaker
We've had more tap water in our years we didn't know and additives and all of the things that destroyed our microbiome. It's even more important, you know what I mean, to build that foundation as young as we can and continue to tweak and support it as we age to keep it, you know,
00:17:08
Speaker
healthy and vibrant so we can create these neurotransmitters and all of the things that we need, not only for sleep, for nervous system support. And melatonin. Melatonin is produced in the gut. It's it's yeah so foundational.
00:17:21
Speaker
um So we needed to discuss it. No, for sure. And I'm so glad you brought it up. Thank you. And that was all for the doom portion. I'm kidding. yeah um But not kidding, actually.
Building Foundational Sleep Habits
00:17:33
Speaker
So now we talk about what are some of the foundational steps to sleep or so to say, setting the stage for and sleep.
00:17:45
Speaker
and We're talking about the things that need to be done and consistently, that deal with the roots that we're talking about, about sleep. And I don't mean consistently for a week and say, get a gold star, like four to six weeks to really see, to really...
00:18:03
Speaker
excess and do like a self-assessment. If you're wondering why you're not sleeping and what the culprits could be, start starting these foundational steps are really going to help you weed out what they could be and what they definitely aren't, you know, and making that commitment to make a shift in the foundations.
00:18:21
Speaker
That's really going to download and give us some information about what the heck is going on with our sleep, And what steps can we take to repair this? 100%, Tanya. And I think if I could just expand on that for a second.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yes. You know, myself included, when I was when i was healing myself 10 years ago, want... when i was healing myself ten years ago you you we want And actually, i i can go into this later on, but I did deal with insomnia for a little while as well. And believe me, when i couldn't sleep, I'm looking for a quick fix.
00:18:55
Speaker
I'm looking for anything. Oh, maybe my melatonin's low. Should I take melatonin? Oh, maybe it's my progesterone. Oh, da, da, da. But at the end of the day, with anything, with any healing, with anything, we need to do the work, foundational work first. Right?
00:19:10
Speaker
We can take melatonin, but if these foundational things are not in place, first of all, it might not be melatonin, number one. But also, if these foundational things are not in place, your sleep quality is not changed. So like anything in life, I'm sorry, bearer of bad news, but we need to do the work in order for us to get better.
00:19:31
Speaker
I love it. There's nothing to add to that. Perfection. So these are some of the questions. I'm going to pose these as questions because I think it's important. I'm going to hold the mirror up yeah to you guys, our listeners, and look in this mirror. You might not love me, but like...
00:19:47
Speaker
Are you truly prioritizing your sleep? That is literally question number one. Or are you binging your favorite series until 11.30 p.m. or scrolling on your phones? Are you prioritizing anything but sleep during those sleep hours?
00:20:06
Speaker
Tanya, I think this is the biggest one. If I could pick one, this is it. It starts with prioritizing your sleep. It starts with creating a bedtime for yourself.
00:20:17
Speaker
It starts with deciding I'm going to put my phone down at this time and stick to it or not watch that next Netflix. And I know some of you ladies listening, I've heard it so many times and I get it, me included, especially with young children.
00:20:33
Speaker
You want your me time. I you were going to say that. That's your only downtime. Your only downtime. You want that time. you You cherish that time and you enjoy that Netflix series or whatever, scrolling time or whatever it is.
00:20:48
Speaker
But I'm telling you, if you're waking up and dragging yourself through the day, it is not worth it. And quite frankly, like Tanya said, give it those six weeks, you might turn into more of a morning person.
00:21:02
Speaker
You might end up having some more me time in the morning instead of getting up in a sheer rush to get your day started. So it's about that priority, as Tanya said. if you want to prayer Maybe you want to prioritize your me time and that's what's important.
00:21:16
Speaker
But if you want to prioritize sleep, this is what you need to think about. I love this. And are you in that, Kim talked, you know, you're talking about making a sleep schedule and, you know, kind of winding down for the day.
00:21:30
Speaker
are What are you doing to wind down? Are you taking steps to wind down, to support your nervous system with things that feel right for you? Things like meditation, things like legs up on the wall, breath work, stretching.
00:21:45
Speaker
Things don't always feel right for everybody. So no one's forcing you to do a guided meditation if you're a legs up on the wall and a soft music person. But are you doing them? We're not a light switch, ladies. We can't be turned on and off, right? Completely. And you know what? I think, think like, again, I'm sorry we're going back to kids again, but When we put our kids to bed, it's a bedtime routine, right? We even think about that in parenting classes and whatever. Okay, so we give the baby a bath. We have some lavender oil.
00:22:17
Speaker
We read them a bedtime story. We calm them down and put them to bed. Well, we need to do the same thing for ourselves. Right? And actually, before we move on to some fun ideas there, can I also just go back to that screen for a second? Because we talked so much about melatonin and melatonin is triggered by dark, by the darkness.
00:22:39
Speaker
So lights, blue lights are affecting your production of melatonin. And there's actually studies. um I can add a little PubMed study and into our show notes if you're interested in learning more.
00:22:52
Speaker
um about why and what has been studied, but there are numerous studies now that show you having your phone up until it will affect your melatonin and affect your deep sleep.
00:23:04
Speaker
Yes, and I love that. And did you know that we have melatonin receptors on our entire body? Like you got these melatonin receptors on the backs of your kneecaps, in your knee ditch.
00:23:15
Speaker
So that darkness is so, so important, especially when it comes to the disruptive blue light. white I love that. and while you're scrolling if you're scrolling questions i'm posing and i'm asking of you are you eating too close to bed are you eating your dinner way too late are you caving into a i'm mindless eating because that's what we're used to doing at night we snack in front of the netflix b eating cause you're ravenously hungry because you've maybe been in a calorie deficit What are you doing at night with your food? Are you consciously, sometimes like me, saying I'm going to eat it anyways and wake up and then regret it? Or are you saying, no, I want to have a good sleep.
00:23:56
Speaker
This is where my eating is ending. You know? what What are you doing? That's a great point. And I think too, like if you do need a bedtime snack – Have it earlier in the night for sure. not to not Not right before you go to bed. Have it an hour, two hours before.
00:24:11
Speaker
And make sure that it's well balanced. Because we talked about that blood sugar dip and spike. If you're having carbohydrates that are going to spike that blood sugar, well, guess what's going to happen in the middle of the night? The roller coaster is going to come down.
00:24:24
Speaker
Your blood sugar is going to go low. You're going to wake up. So have something that's got that protein, that fat, that that fiber, that, that well round, well balanced snack.
00:24:36
Speaker
Thanks for saying that Kim, because I didn't want it to come off. Like I'm like, don't eat after dinner. I eat after dinner almost every night, but it's what I choose to eat. And one of my favorites has been doing my nut and seed mix that has like maple and sea salt on it. So it's actually good and it feels snacky. So what are you eating? And here's another one. What drinking?
00:24:55
Speaker
What are you drinking? Are you having a cocktail, a beer, wine? Are you drinking in the evenings? I know. And I'm sorry. at that If you are in the habit of having that glass of wine to wind down at the end of your night...
00:25:11
Speaker
It's not helping your sleep. And you are not winding down with the wind. not winding down. The other thing too is like, and this is another episode, but you know, if you're doing it to wind down, to calm yourself, it might in that exact moment, but your nervous system, it's actually affecting you in the opposite way.
00:25:29
Speaker
It's waking you up. It's increasing your, it's actually not supporting your nervous system in any way possible. So bigger conversation, but yes, something to look at.
00:25:40
Speaker
And speaking about what you're drinking at night, are you emptying your bladder fully? Because that can be an issue for a lot of women as well at all different age groups. And by fully, and that's something that's been happening to me lately as my estrogen declines because it's, surprise, surprise, it's linked to our bladder as well. So fully emptying my bladder for me, which has helped, means about 20 minutes before I go to sleep.
00:26:04
Speaker
I get up and I go to the bathroom. And then it's so annoying sometimes right before I'm about to turn off the light, I get up one more time. And that allows me to fully empty my bladder, especially if I've had maybe more water or, you know, anything else before bed. So again, it's a priority for a reason. We're talking about setting the stage. yeah This is work.
00:26:23
Speaker
Are you doing the the work here to help you foster a restful sleep? A hundred percent, Tanya. It's great point. And the other thing is too, some people don't drink enough water during the day and they drink all their water towards the end of their day. And that's not exactly, that will just set you up for some night wakings and have to go to the bathroom. I also love part of my wind down routine is to have a cup of tea and I have either chamomile or lavender or sometimes valerian root tea or something to really help support my sleep, but I can't have it right before I fall into bed because I'll end up waking up and having to use the bathroom. So great point.
00:27:01
Speaker
It's- Yeah. And setting yourself up for success. Yeah. When you're having those exactly. um And another one too,
Creating a Sleep-Friendly Environment
00:27:09
Speaker
this one's important. Is your space conducive to sleep? It's your bedroom. I understand our bedrooms become our home offices, our kids' room, our laundry rooms, our catch-all for everything.
00:27:20
Speaker
This is where, again, that priority comes in. Make it conducive for sleep. It's a bedroom. What's the temperature like? We sleep better when it's cooler Is it dark because you have melatonin receptors for light all over your body?
00:27:33
Speaker
Do you need a sound machine? Do you live somewhere dry as the driest place of life like me in Alberta? Do you need a humidifier? Like what does what do you need to sleep well?
00:27:45
Speaker
And are you giving that to yourself? 100%, Tanya. That's a great point. And you know you might you might want to look for it look for a sleep mask. Any little bit of light.
00:27:57
Speaker
does affect our melatonin. And, you know, even when our eyelids are closed, you can see light, right? So um sleep mask, we talked about the bedding that you use, you're going to need to be cool in the night, or if you want to be cozy, warm in the night, you know, all of those things go into proper sleep hygiene.
00:28:16
Speaker
Even down to what you're wearing. What are your pajamas? I used to wear flannels. Tell you right now, Kim, don't wear the flannels right now, right? Like so mindful about that. And also for some people, a diffuser.
00:28:28
Speaker
So again, talking about what feels right for you and shutting down your nervous system and your nighttime routine. um For me, actually, there's this essential oil blend by Sage Natural Wellness.
00:28:41
Speaker
It's and it's called Power Down. And I got it as a gift, and it's a calming oil blend. And on the nights where I've done everything that I can, but unfortunately, maybe I'm still having a hard time falling asleep or going back to sleep, it's a beautiful blend that I rub onto my wrists and kind of then curl up and kind of put my nose close to that. So essential oils can also be part of your evening routine. 100%. take a bath with Epsom salts, which is full of magnesium, which is also support sleep.
00:29:10
Speaker
So many of us are magnesium deficient. Actually, that's one we should we should say. um You know, magnesium, if you're deficient in magnesium, it really can affect sleep.
00:29:21
Speaker
And so I also take a magnesium supplement at night. um And sorry, I digressed from adding that lavender to the bath as well. No, and that's perfect. And thanks for bringing up the magnesium because that can be part of a nighttime routine.
00:29:36
Speaker
We're all deficient in magnesium. I don't care who you are. The soil is depleted. There's none left. So my clients, one of my biggest things is a magnesium supplement on their night table.
00:29:48
Speaker
Again, it's that little effort. So you don't, right before you turn off the light, you can take that magnesium supplement. So super important. And can I go back to one second before we carry on about the snacking, because I think that's big for a lot of people, myself included. So I talked about how lately it's been like a nut and seed mix and it's so fun.
00:30:09
Speaker
There's so many things you can do with different, you know, um spices, cinnamon, whatever. But anyways, you you can really make it different every evening. But... These nuts and in my mix, especially almonds, not only as you mentioned, Kim, having a snack that is balanced in fats and proteins, that's nature's package right there in these nuts, but the amino acid tryptophan is something that is extremely helpful for our sleep.
00:30:36
Speaker
And there's certain foods that you can also strive to include in your diet. And if you're having an evening snack, some of them do not fit, but some of them do. like almonds, are a really good source of tryptophan. So I thought it was maybe important to bring up some sources of tryptophan as well. Another one is tart cherry juice.
00:30:54
Speaker
Well, tryptophan also, like for any of you who have heard the whole, like somebody has a huge turkey dinner for like Thanksgiving and they feel exhausted after, turkey has a ton of tryptophan in it.
00:31:06
Speaker
And again, it supports melatonin production. So you might not want to have a big turkey dinner right before you fall asleep, but you'll be awake you'll been digesting all night.
00:31:17
Speaker
But tart cherry juice, that small snack of nuts and seeds are great potential sources there for you. And then some sources quickly throughout your day, you can easily look up a list or ask one of us, are things like cold water fish, um free range eggs, tofu. So it is abundant in a lot of foods.
00:31:37
Speaker
But I think the most important thing here, as we're kind of sorry we digress moving through, is we Really want to drive home the fact and hold that mirror in front of you. Are you doing the foundational steps?
00:31:50
Speaker
Because sleep is like a pyramid and healing. This is my healing pyramid analogy, which is what I use all the time.
00:32:01
Speaker
At the bottom of our pyramid is our adrenal glands slash our nervous system. That's the base. And during perimenopause, we often talk about the sex hormones, which are very important because they're fluctuating.
00:32:15
Speaker
But that's the tip of the pyramid, the estrogen, the progesterone, the testosterone, all of these. And instead of focusing right away on the tip, We need to focus on that foundational base, the adrenal glands, the nervous system.
00:32:30
Speaker
And I'd like to give an example of that because my sleep was never a thing for me, um except starting two months ago, it started to become a thing to me, as I mentioned. Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, being hot, yada, yada. Okay? Light sleep, whatever.
00:32:45
Speaker
And I was really upset, Kim, because like I said, I'm going through this perimenopause thing pretty good. I'm feeling good. I'm really, really proud of how my body's going through it.
00:32:56
Speaker
But when the sleep hit, I was like, hell no. and Absolutely not. So anyways... I was, i am for the most part doing my foundational things.
00:33:08
Speaker
And then I started to push them even harder because there's always room for improvement. And I still was having an issue. So Kim, I made one simple change. I told you about it. I started a different kind of adaptogen to support my adrenal glands and my nervous system.
00:33:25
Speaker
It's all it took. So I was on, I still am. I started this specific tincture um probably about four weeks ago. And 99% of the time, I'm falling asleep a lot faster.
00:33:39
Speaker
i can't lie. Sometimes I still wake up in the night because I'm warm. but not because I have racing thoughts, not because my heart's going or anything like that. So I flip off the covers, I cool off and I'm back asleep in a wink.
00:33:51
Speaker
So if that's not proof of the importance of the foundational of adrenals, I don't know what is. Well, and this is just it. So this is what this podcast is all about,
Advanced Sleep Solutions and Seeking Professional Help
00:34:01
Speaker
right? So for you...
00:34:05
Speaker
It was, you needed to support your adrenals. So many of us do. I also needed to support my adrenals. um but So it's, if you are, so if you are listening and you can raise your hand and say, I have, I am doing the foundational things and I am still not sleeping.
00:34:21
Speaker
This is when you can start digging into what Tanya and I talked about at the beginning of this podcast Digging into, is it gut, is, you know, how is your gut health? What's happening with your melatonin levels? You can test those.
00:34:35
Speaker
What's happening with your progesterone and your estrogen and your adrenals and your cortisol? And this is where you work with a practitioner. I mean, Tanya, I talked about it at the beginning, I suffered from insomnia. I guess over a year ago now when my progesterone started dropping.
00:34:50
Speaker
And that's when I decided to move on to HRT. I started to take hormone replacement therapy. I took um progesterone in small doses, you know, at the end of my cycle after ovulation and until menstruation.
00:35:04
Speaker
And it changed my life. in terms of my sleep support. um But again, i did the testing. I worked with a practitioner to make sure that that was the right move for me. So, you know, so if you're listening to this first step is the foundational step.
00:35:25
Speaker
Put your hand up. Are you turning off that cell phone and putting it to bed? Are you giving yourself a nice nighttime routine? Are you doing all the sleep hygiene tips that we talked about? And if yes, reach out to a practitioner like a Tanya or myself, naturopath, you know, holistic nutritionist like us, and you can dig deep into sort of why you still aren't sleeping.
00:35:49
Speaker
I couldn't agree more. Listen, at the end of the day, common symptoms are common. We say this all the time, but they're not normal. So it is not normal for you to know, starting now in these years, you're just goingnna have to laugh along and be like, oh, you should have called me at 3 a.m., Kim.
00:36:08
Speaker
I was up too. Oh, me too. I grew up listening to my mom say that, probably to your mom, Kim, on the phone. And I still... hear my mom say that now about bad sleeps and this and that, you know, talking about all the ladies in her neighborhood, all all the ladies joke around.
00:36:26
Speaker
It's not normal. If you start to really look at the foundations, you are going to take the guesswork out of why you're not sleeping. You're going to start to weed things out. You're going to be able to actually find what the culprits are and then work on them. You do not have to go without sleep. I'm not saying it's all going to be hunky-dory overnight.
00:36:48
Speaker
Yes, there'll be work involved, but do you want to sleep? If you do, then let's do this and prioritize it. Oh, couldn't have said it better, Tanya. And it's so, sorry, just that that whole point about joking about sleep, like it's in all the memes, it's in all the conversations. 100%.
00:37:04
Speaker
one hundred per cent but It's a hard no for me. Yes. It's a hard no. If I don't sleep, you are going to know about it because you're not going to want to be around me. And that's why when my sleep started to get affected, I was like, hell to the hell no, let's fix this. So everybody deserves to sleep. So everybody out there that say has those sleepless nights, you don't have to.
00:37:31
Speaker
Like that invest in these things and- See where life takes you if you really put you know your efforts into it. I think we should end here. Guys, this was a bit of a long one, but I think it was so important for us to get through everything.
00:37:45
Speaker
As always, reach out if you have any questions. um Other than that, we will see you next week and we hope you get some good, deep, restorative sleep this week. Absolutely. Good night, ladies.
00:37:59
Speaker
See you next week. Bye. Bye. hey guys. Thanks so much for hanging out with us today. If this episode resonated with you, we would love it if you would hit like, subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend.
00:38:13
Speaker
We love to hear from you because let's be honest, this show is for you. If you have a topic you'd love us to tackle or want to learn more about something we talked about today, send us a message. We got you.
00:38:25
Speaker
Stay connected with us on social media at what's my age again dot podcast for even more knowledge and inspiration between episodes. Kim and I aren't doctors or your healthcare practitioners.
00:38:38
Speaker
Everyone's body is unique, so always consult your own healthcare care provider before starting something new.