Sleep is important for good health. Getting good sleep helps to improve your mood and can help keep health problems at bay. Research shows women are more likely than men to have difficulty falling asleep and other sleep problems. Understanding the sleep problems in women and how to fix them can help you enjoy a good night’s rest.

Insomnia

Women are more likely to have insomnia than men. Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep or stay asleep. Women tend to suffer from anxiety and depression more than men do, and both conditions are common causes of insomnia. Women are also more likely to have insomnia because women experience hormonal changes than mine do not. Premenstrual symptoms (PMS) is commonly reported as a cause of sleep problem. Pregnancy is another known cause. Women may wake up more in their third trimester to use the bathroom. While women in menopause often have their sleep disturbed by night sweats and hot flashes.

Restless Leg Syndrome

More women than men suffer from restless leg syndrome. Although it can happen to women of all ages, it affects women in their pregnancy more than others. Depression medication can cause restless leg syndrome. Women are more likely to suffer from depression than men.

Sleep Apnea

This is a disorder that is characterised by snoring and interrupted breathing. This is a serious sleep disorder that affects women after age 50. The decrease in progesterone in menopausal women causes an increase in abdominal fat and increases sleep apnea.

Pain

Women suffer from nighttime pain more than men do. Women experience pain conditions like migraine, tension headaches, heartburn, and rheumatism. Pain makes it harder for you to fall asleep, wakes you up in the middle of the night, or can even lead to nightmares.

Practice Good Sleep Hygiene to Sleep Better

Setting yourself up for better sleep by practicing strong sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene means having daily routines and a good bedroom environment to promote good sleep. Here are a few tips to practice good sleep hygiene:

Set Your Sleep and Wake Schedule

Setting a fixed sleep and wake up time regardless of whether it’s weekday or weekend gets your brain and body used to getting the right amount of sleep you need. Make gradual changes to your sleep times by an hour or two so that you can get adjusted to the new schedule.

Keep Naps to 30 Minutes

You build up a sleep debt in the day to help you fall asleep at night. Having a healthy sleep debt is essential for sleeping well at night. While power naps can recharge your energy, keep yours to 30 minutes. Napping for more than that in the day time can reduce the sleep debt you need to sleep uninterrupted at night.

Follow a Daily Wind Down Routine

Develop a pre-bed routine that helps you to relax before you sleep. Read a book, listen to music that encourages sleep or take a bath. Avoid exercising 2 hours before you sleep. Do not have your dinner less than 3 hours before your bedtime. Having a light snack before napping can help you to get a good, deep sleep.

Set Your Bedroom Up for A Win

Keep your bedroom dark, quiet and cool. Use thick curtains to keep out the light. Alternatively, you can use a sleeping mask to keep the light out of your eyes. Do not have a television in your room as it can make it harder for you to fall asleep. Use your bedroom only for sleeping and nothing else, your brain will associate the bed with sleepiness and your quality of sleep will improve.

Other Habits You Can Develop

Caffeine

Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks at night, and this includes soda and tea. The effects of caffeine may last for several hours and fragment your sleep.

Practice Natural Hormone Balance

Having more balanced levels of progesterone can reduce sleep apnea caused by an increase in belly fat. Food such as broccoli, brussels sprouts and spinach can stimulate your body’s production of progesterone, and adding them into your diet could boost natural progesterone levels. You can incorporate creams that stimulate your body’s natural production of progesterone. The body absorbs creams well, making it available in the bloodstream. Meditrina Ageless Herbal is one such cream you can use. It contains natural plant ingredients that stimulate your body’s production of progesterone. Unless you are medically advised to do so, we do not encourage the use of creams that contain synthetically made progesterone, as they may interfere with your body’s natural hormone production.

Use Aromatherapy

Essential oils such as lavender, chamomile, clary sage and sweet marjoram are known for their relaxing effects and alleviate insomnia. You can diffuse, apply or spray them on your pillowcase. If you have a dog at home, there is a risk that long hours of diffusion of essential oils may make your dog sick. If this is happening, we suggest you spray the essential oils on the underside of your pillowcase instead. It will work the same. If you want to make your own essential oil spray, do not blend your oils with alcohol as alcohol can damage the therapeutic benefits of the oils. Blend it with distilled water instead. Alternatively, you can use bSoul Aqua Comfort Lavender, this multi-purpose face mist made purely of natural waters collected from the extraction of lavender essential oil. Spray two pumps of this facial mist on your pillow before bedtime to help you fall asleep.