I Can’t
Sleep
By Elaine Neale
Clinical Hypnotherapist & Psychotherapist It’s frustrating when we don’t get a good night’s sleep, isn’t it? But when we’re sleeping poorly night after night it can become more than frustrating, it’s debilitating. We spend the night tossing and turning, feeling too hot or too cold, our minds seemingly wide awake and running riot. We might even be wishing the night away so that the whole experience might just end, only to be faced with another day of feeling tired and irritable with stress and anxiety levels going up another notch. All of which inevitably leads to it being more difficult to sleep the next night. A combination of life, work and family can do that to us but throw in perimenopause and you might feel like throwing in the towel! The changes to oestrogen, progesterone and melatonin levels we experience during perimenopause can cause increased anxiety or low mood and all contribute to our sleeping lightly or poorly.
But don’t give up because there is hope! There are things we can do for ourselves to help us feel and sleep better. We know that lifestyle affects the severity and frequency of perimenopause symptoms but so does mindset. Physical and mental health are not separate, and the physical impact of mindset shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s all just health. Simply put, the healthier we are, the better we sleep.
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MENOPAUSE LIFE SUMMER 2022
So how do we use mindset to help us sleep better?
When we’re feeling stressed or anxious, we store all of that emotion and negativity in our internal stress bucket. The more we drip in, the fuller the bucket. The fuller the bucket, the worse our sleep gets. The next day, we’re tired and the cycle continues. We’re more likely to be negative and we pour more and more into the bucket. And what happens to a bucket when it’s full and you try to add more in? Yep, it overflows. Those are the days when you’ve had enough and feel like you can’t take it anymore. But, as I said before, there is hope. There are ways of emptying your stress bucket and the good news is that they are all things you enjoy! How could I possibly know that? Because you choose them! As long as we are doing something positive, we’re not putting anything else in the bucket and effectively attaching a tap to the bottom to help empty out what’s already there. Do something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be exercise (although that’s great), anything that makes you feel good. Spend time with other people. Share an activity, have a chat, a giggle or just pass the time of day. Notice the small things that make you smile. Perhaps think about something you’re looking forward to or back on a fond memory.
