What happens to sleep at the Menopause?
There are different ways that sleep may be affected during the perimenopause and menopause- you may have difficulty getting to sleep, problems staying asleep with frequent waking through the night, early morning wakening or less restorative type (deep ) sleep.
During the menopause we spend less time in stage 3 restorative sleep so a common complaint from women is that they suddenly seem to feel much less refreshed in the morning despite having seemingly slept most of the night.
Mood disorders are well known to cause early morning wakening and anxiety can really interrupt our ability to shut off our minds and drift off to sleep.