NEW Sleep & Fatigue Weekly Class

Enjoy an hour of deep stretches, relaxation and breathwork to prepare your body for sleep

Scientists have found that sleep is as important to our basic human survival as food, water and shelter. And doctors have recently realised that lack of sleep is one of the most serious symptoms of menopause because it can last for years, if we don't do something about it.

The hormone fluctuations that we experience in Perimenopause to Menopause can cause broken sleep, night sweats, anxious thoughts and a cycle of sleep disturbance that leads to daytime fatigue.

The drop in oestrogen affects our brains too, causing those anxious thoughts and a sense of overwhelm that can cause adrenal fatigue.

If this cycle goes on too long, we can create stressful patterns of behaviour that prevent us from dropping off to sleep, for fear of waking up!

So, we need to break this cycle. How can we do this? Taking Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) that includes progesterone can help because the progesterone can make you sleepy - just remember to take it at night.

Here are some other simple solutions:

1. Change what and when we eat and drink: eat your last meal earlier in the day; reduce or eliminate alcohol, caffeine, sugar and hot spice; drink water throughout the day but not too close to bedtime if you want to avoid getting up in the night.

2. Take Magnesium supplements an hour before bed because these relax the muscles which help you to settle into sleep.

3. Write a Journal before bed to release and let go of any thoughts and emotions that have accumulated during the day. Just like food, unprocessed thoughts can keep you awake at night.

4. Practice yoga and breathwork that help you to transition from day time alertness to night time rest. My Thursday evening Sleep & Fatigue class is designed to tap into your parasympathetic nervous system - your rest and digest response - so that your body and mind feel safe and ready to go into deep sleep.

5. Remember: as we age, the length of hours we sleep is not as important as the quality of our sleep. A sleep cycle of 5-6 hour so good deep sleep is better than 8 hours of tossing and turning.

6. And - you can catch up on physical rest during the day by practising a simple Restorative Yoga pose for 5-15 minutes, and feel more refreshed than if you gone to bed in the middle of the day.

The Sleep & Fatigue classes are being held throughout July on Thursday's from 7.30pm-8.30pm and you can book here or on the Events page.