The menopause can be a difficult time in a woman's life, bringing about hormonal changes that can impact various aspects of health, including sleep. The delights of menopause can include hot flushes, night sweats, mood swings and physical aches and pains that can disrupt sleep patterns and leave you feeling exhausted.

It can be very difficult to get a good night's sleep. I know about this personally as I am currently going through this. Difficulty getting off to sleep or waking up and worrying about life, as well as night sweats can all make you feel irritable and tired the next day. However, there are things you can do. Let's look at the practical steps you can take to get a good night's sleep during the menopause.

Understanding Menopause and Sleep Disturbances

As women journey through menopause, the loss of confidence can be particularly pronounced. Many women experience a significant dip in confidence during this stage, with one contributing factor being the inevitable changes in appearance that come when we get older. However, in today's world, where options for aesthetic treatments abound, there's no reason for women to endure this loss of confidence silently. 

Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment containing female hormones used to replace the estrogen (also called oestrogen in the UK) or estrogen and progesterone that the body stops producing during menopause. Hormone replacement therapy is mostly used to treat commonly experienced menopause symptoms such as night sweats, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, mood shifts, weight gain, and sleep problems.

Hormone replacement therapy is also a good way to prevent bone loss and reduce fractures in postmenopausal women. However, there are some risks associated with the use of HRT. These risks depend on the hormone therapy that one uses, the dose, the period the medication has been taken, the age a woman starts it and the individual health risks.

It is generally thought that the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks, however, to have the best results on HRT, you should ensure that you evaluate your hormone replacement therapy often in collaboration with a doctor.

The basic hormone replacement therapy types
The advantages of HRT (provided by medical clinics like Fem Excel) may be more than the risks if a person is healthy and:

The menopause can be a difficult time and is often thought of as ‘the last taboo’. In fact, the menopause is something that up to 50% of UK women are too embarrassed to talk about at all, even with their GPs. Being not sure what will trigger symptoms and how to cope can be embarrassing and upsetting, so knowledge is important when you start to experience the progression through the menopause.

For example, we all know that Christmas is one of the most stressful times of the year, but did you know that for menopausal women, it is also one of the biggest trigger times for symptoms of the menopause - in particular, the hot flush?



When perimenopausal or menopausal women are exposed to increased levels of stress, drastic changes in temperature or large amounts of alcohol or coffee they typically experience a higher frequency of hot flushes. The stress of Christmas shopping, meal planning and sticking to a hectic pre-Christmas social calendar, as well as coping with the day itself, can be hugely demanding.

Stress is actually one of the major factors in triggering hot flushes; the release of adrenaline into the bloodstream causes your heart to race and blood flow to increase, leading to a subsequent increase in temperature. A hot flush is your body’s response to cool the body down, but a hot flush can be overwhelming in its intensity and leave you sweating and even shivery afterwards, as your body attempts to bring your temperature back to a normal level.




Alongside stress, the extremes of temperature that come with dashing in and out of shops, or in and out of the kitchen on Christmas Day itself, contribute to kickstarting a hot flush. And while we’re all so busy, you might not think that there’s any harm in consuming an extra cup of coffee to give you an energy boost or indulging in some wine with friends in the run-up to December 25, but caffeine and alcohol are both hot flush triggers too.

But you needn’t think that your entire social schedule, shopping routine and gift list has to go out of the window this Christmas; in fact, I firmly believe that making small lifestyle changes this Christmas may help to reduce stress levels and keep those hot flushes at bay.

My five top tips for surviving a menopausal Christmas:

Wear temperature-control undergarments

This is such a simple change to make, yet it can really make a big difference. There are some fantastic menopause-specific undergarment ranges on the market, using temperature-control fabrics to regulate body heat, reduce the awful shivers post-flush, and wick away moisture to avoid embarrassing sweaty situations too. These garments are designed for wearing underneath your clothing during the day, so you can still wear your regular clothes and get all dressed up for the festive season, but be confident that you can remain in control underneath.


Layer up your clothing

Layering is the ideal solution for helping to regulate your temperature when you’re out and about. Layer a temperature-control tank top with a t-shirt and a cardigan, rather than wearing one bulky jumper, to help you better manage your body’s response to changes in temperature. Choose cosy items that are quick and easy to pull on and off, depending on how hot or cold you feel.

Swap your coffee for a matcha tea

The caffeine in your regular teas and coffees stimulates the central nervous system, accelerating the heart rate, the blood pressure and the body temperature – all of which can bring on a hot flush. But just plain hot water can induce an episode, so I recommend trying something cooler to start your day. A bottle of cool iced matcha tea a good choice, as it’s cool and refreshing, with very low levels of slow-release caffeine, and an incredible level of antioxidants that help to keep the body healthy – especially important in winter when germs are rife! If you want something similar to coffee try a matcha latte instead.

Reduce your alcohol intake

Christmas time is full of Christmas parties so it can be tricky to avoid alcohol at this time but if you find a glass of wine brings you out in a flush, look to find an alternative. There are plenty of non-alcoholic options around such as delicious mocktails or soft drinks like Elderflower presse. Why not make a delicious drink with pomegranate juice? As well as being rich in vitamins C, A and E, it also contains folic acid too.

Limit exposure to extremes in temperature

Rather than rush around doing your Christmas shopping outdoors try and do it online. This will help avoid extremes of temperature that can bring on hot flushes. If you do find yourself getting hot and flustered whilst out and about, try a cooling face mist with rosewater to soothe and refresh the skin, and help you to cool down.


The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover's Top Suggestions to Help You Through the Menopause this Festive Season:

Wear Become temperature control underwear (www.webecome.co.uk). For a discount of 10% off your entire order enter THEDIARY10, at checkout valid until the 15th of January 2018.
Try OMGTea Iced Matcha tea (www.omgteas.co.uk)
Sip a pomegranate ‘gin’ mocktail, made with Pom Juice and Seedlip non-alcoholic spirits
Try doing your Christmas shopping online, to help you find gifts without the stress!
Spritz your skin with Aster & Bay’s Rosewater Mist to cool down and refresh.