By far the most debilitating symptom I have experienced so far, the lack of sleep made my life very difficult. Those nights after nights after nights, when no matter what time I went to bed at, I would wake up waaay too early. 5 hours a night was an achievement during those times. I wanted to scream, thinking of another hard day ahead, given that by lunch time I would have to make a conscious effort to keep my eyes open. Funny conversation here with a woman I love, who, experiencing the same issue, and owning her business, was telling me how she started going to work at 5 am, and “opening the city”.  Not even the market was open, nothing! -just her and her hormones roaming the streets downtown.

I was fully aware that sleep disturbances were adding to the already existing problems – weight gain, anxiety. I was almost terrified to look at the clock when waking up at night, as I knew what the consequences were. I was worried I might get into a car accident, as I was fully aware that my reflexes, attention and judgement were all impaired. I was a completely different person, floating like a zombie through life.

I stopped drinking coffee in the afternoon, started going for walks in the evening, nothing helped.

How is someone supposed to function long term when sleep deprived, and even if we do, what are the long-term consequences of this?

This, in my opinion, is the worst problem during this phase of a woman’s life, as it impacts your daily functioning, it amplifies the other symptoms that come with menopause, and it damages your long-term health.

If I were to conceive a comprehensive approach for ameliorating weight gain, mood disorders, brain fog, this would be my starting point. But let’s see what the medical world comes up with.