Fatigue in Menopause

Make adjustments in your eating patterns

Try to eat your meals in smaller portions, more often throughout the day. Choose healthy foods rich in nutrients. Eating a big meal right before bedtime could interfere with sleep, especially if you suffer from heartburn.

Exercise

Get into the habit of exercising daily, but ensure you finish your workout at least three hours before bedtime. One common symptom of menopause is weight gain due to fluctuating hormone levels, and a regular exercise regimen may help with that as well as combat menopausal fatigue.

Practice relaxation techniques

Many women have found that deep breathing exercises and meditation can help calm their minds and nerves before bedtime.

Cut out caffeine

Avoid stimulants like coffee (I know, this can be a hard one), tea, soda, and cigarettes, especially later in the day.

Keep cool at night

Ventilate your bedroom, wear light pajamas, and turn your thermostat down to avoid the triggers of hot flashes, one of many menopausal symptoms.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Perimenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women experience all or some symptoms of menopause. It’s mostly due to hormonal changes in their body. Since many of the negative effects of menopause result from a lack of estrogen, sometimes, therapeutic hormone replacement can reverse some of these symptoms. In women’s health, HRT has been shown to reduce hot flashes, mood swings, and other symptoms that may prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep.

Anti-depressants

Many post-menopausal women find that SSRIs like Prozac, Paxil, or Effexor can cut down on hot flashes. Seek medical advice. You and your health care provider can explore these options if HRT is not right for you.

Other medications

Medications such as birth control pills and blood pressure medications have been known to reduce hot flashes.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, also known as CPAP

This is a treatment for women suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a condition in which relaxed throat muscles intermittently obstruct the upper airway during sleep. Post-menopausal women are 3-6 times more likely to experience OSA than pre-menopausal women.

Because OSA interferes with sleep and hinders the body’s ability to oxygenate the blood, people with OSA can wake up feeling like they’ve barely slept a wink. In CPAP therapy, the patient sleeps wearing a mask hooked up to a machine designed to keep airways open through the continuous air flow.