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A compassionate approach to poor sleep during the perimenopause

Many women going through the perimenopause (or menopausal transition) experience disturbed sleep. It’s one, if not the, core symptom of this period. According to research, up to 60% of menopausal women suffer from poor sleep – which also has a knock-on effect on their family, work and social lives.

Adopting a compassionate attitude, i.e. taking a moment to respectfully observe yourself struggling with the aim to support yourself, can help to alleviate poor sleep and its daytime consequences.

What if you could sleep yourself kind?

Learn how sleeping well helps you be the kind person you want to be.

Why a late dinner is bad news for your waistline

Is it bad to eat late at night? This question is coming up a lot in my work with clients. Luckily, several research groups are investigating how meal timing affects metabolic health. (And sleep – but I will talk about that latter point in more detail in a different post). In this blog, I will summarise the findings from two recent studies, and I focus on how the timing of your biggest daily meal and eating late can impact weight loss. And the opposite, weight gain and obesity.

Is your inner critic giving you a hard time for not sleeping well?

When we make a mistake, we often blame and point the finger at ourselves for what we perceive as a major personal short-coming. Within seconds our mind starts to beat us up, wielding an invisible measurement stick and complaining that “You should have done this better, you are simply not good enough! Who will like you? You are a failure!” And these might be some of the ‘nicer’ thoughts that your mind hurls at you. But even when we are not making mistakes, our critical mind, the inner bully, is constantly evaluating what we are doing and how well we are doing it.

Bedtime procrastination – why bedtimes are different to bodytimes

Bedtime procrastination means that people don’t go to bed and sleep ‘on time’ although there is nothing preventing them from doing so. It’s an intention-behaviour gap. They intend to go to bed but then stay up for another while. What’s the big deal you might ask? Well, less opportunity to sleep and therefore more sleep deprivation and tiredness the next day at work.

What is Insomnia and How Sleep Therapy Can Help

Often, we get stuck in spirals of fear and guilt about not sleeping or insomnia. Our minds race, our hearts pound, and anxiety piles upon anxiety. We feel alone and disconnected from our loved ones.

A holistic approach based on science

I blend evidence-based practices in my approach. The result is a combination of sleep science and chronobiology with Compassion-Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Training, and Mindfulness. In this post I explain what they are about.

A compassionate approach to poor sleep during the perimenopause
Download my free White Paper Poor Sleep During the Perimenopause here. Learn more about how a compassionate attitude helps you to alleviate your struggle with poor sleep and its daytime consequences.
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Want to make sense of sleep?

I wrote Sleep Sense to share my fascination with sleep with all of you. To help you understand why sleep is important for every single one of us. My aim is to empower you to take steps that are right for you to sleep well.

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Have you tried sleeping pills to banish your insomnia? Many of us have, with mixed results. One of my biggest issues with traditional sleeping pills is the fact a regular user will quickly build a tolerance.That then means you need to up your dose, and THAT is the time for concern about the side effects. Because the more you take, the higher the risk you’ll experience them.There is a place for sleeping pills, but that is not the way I work long-term.I work with my clients to discover the root of their poor sleep and approach it with small but powerful changes to improve lifestyle and therefore experience with sleep. I'm quoted in an a recent article for @Esquire which looks at the rise in sleep supplements out there & the pros and cons of trying them head to my bio of you'd like to read it. #Sleep #sleepsupplements #sleepsupport #sleepwell #wellbeing #wellness #insomnia ... See MoreSee Less

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