How does poor sleep affect your health after 40?

Mar 6, 2024 | Women's Health After 40

If you celebrate or dread the return of daylight savings this month, it’s the perfect time to talk about how sleep affects your health and what to do about it.

It’s 2:32 AM. Why are you awake, like awake awake, ready to start your day?

Do you get up? Start a load of laundry? Read? Or roll over and pretend to “just rest.”

Years ago I worked with a client who regularly woke up between 2 – 4 am to “get Mom-stuff done” – laundry, pay bills, make the grocery list. Her family said vacuuming and unloading the dishwasher was a hard no.

At the time I thought, “What’s going on with her? Why is she so wired in the middle of the night?”

Turns out she was in her late 40s. Her sleep never returned to normal after having her second kid at 42. If you feel like it’s an act of perfect universal alignment for you to get a good night’s sleep in midlife you’re not alone.

Sleep disturbances can be one of the first symptoms of perimenopause – a symptom that can continue through menopause.

pink bell alarm clock showing 2:10 — Waking up between 2-4 AM is a common symptom of perimenopause

Why does sleep get harder after 40?

For women, fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can impact circadian rhythms. These hormone fluctuations also impact night sweats (hot flashes at night), mood disruptions (anxiety and depression), and stress tolerance. You can learn more about these hormonal shifts and their effects on sleep in this episode of the Savor Food and Body Podcast with Dr. Caitlin O’Connor.

The two most common challenges with sleep in midlife are falling asleep and staying asleep. If your to-do list is a mile long, self-nourishment like consistent meals, exercise, and reflection time can be non-existent during the day. This can make it difficult to wind down when it’s time to hit the pillow. On the other hand, if you’re exhausted and fall asleep quickly, you might wake up between 2-4 am with your mind racing into the next day.

What impact does sleep have on your health?

Aside from feeling like you have a sleep-deprived hangover, your mood, appetite, and interoceptive awareness (ability to notice hunger and fullness cues) are all impacted by sleep deprivation. When you’re low in energy and mood, it’s easy to turn towards food for a quick pick-me-up.

Aside from wanting to emotionally feel better, your appetite regulation hormones, ghrelin, and leptin, are affected by sleep. After a lousy night’s sleep, ghrelin, the hunger hormone, increases encouraging you to find a high-carb snack around 10 AM or 3 PM.

At the same time, leptin, the fullness hormone, decreases so you’re less likely to stop eating when you’re comfortably full. These hormonal changes can contribute to unwanted weight gain over time.

It’s not you’re fault. It’s physiology and no amount of dieting will fix it. Long-term side effects of poor-quality sleep can lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. You need sleep!

bunch of red cherries in brown bowl — Foods like cherries can help you get better sleep

How can you improve sleep after 40?

If perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and anxiety are disrupting your sleep, address those symptoms first with your healthcare team. For some people hormone replacement therapy can be a good option. For others, more phytoestrogen foods like soy, flax, and legumes can help. Next work on your bedtime routine.

If there’s a time to dial in self-nourishment practices it’s in the evening. We’re talking about sleep hygiene. About an hour before bedtime, start winding down by making a cup of relaxing tea with herbs like chamomile, lemon balm, or lavender. If you’d like stronger herbs, try herbal teas with valerian, skullcap, hops, or passionflower.

Pro Tip: always check with your healthcare team and pharmacist before taking any herbal supplements, including tea!

Other wind-down activities include gentle stretching or a yoga nedra practice, a warm bath or shower, reading, and meditation. Limit or avoid screens at least 30-60 minutes before bed.

Set your bedroom up for a blissful night. Keep the temperature cool by cracking a window or using a fan. If you’re prone to night sweats, consider cool sheets made from 100% cotton or bamboo. Cooling mattress pads may also help. Reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex only. This will help cue your brain it’s time for bed when you walk into the room.

What food can help improve sleep?

You’re probably not going to like this – especially with all the anti-carb messaging from diet culture. Complex carbs at dinner can help you fall asleep. Carbs like whole grain bread, pasta, and rice or quinoa can convert to serotonin, promoting calm and relaxation. Other foods like pumpkin seeds, cacao, sesame seeds, chia seeds, whole yogurt, and turkey are high in tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to serotonin too.

Build a balanced plate for your evening meal like a turkey or hummus sandwich on whole-grain bread with a side salad sprinkled with pumpkin seeds, and a dark chocolate oatmeal cookie for dessert and you’ll sleep like you did in your teens and 20s!