Menopause Fatigue

Although 'menopause fatigue' isn't exactly a specific medical term, for many women the two conditions do seem to be closely linked.

If you're between 40 and 55, are peri-menopausal or actually going through menopause itself, chances are good that you're tired a lot of the time!

Feeling tired (or even exhausted), having difficulty concentrating or remembering things, being irritable or 'down', or experiencing unexpected waves of drowsiness or weakness, are fairly common symptoms seen at this time.

What Causes Menopause Fatigue?

Those pesky hormones that can put you on an out-of-control rollercoaster ride of emotion every month, or during pregnancy, can cause a whole lot more problems once you reach menopause (or the perimenopause period leading up to the end of menstruation).

Your body is going through some significant changes, and your hormone levels are often 'out of balance' during this stage of your life.

The result is 'menopause fatigue', and a whole host of other difficulties including depression, anxiety, memory loss, sleep disturbances and more.

A 2007 National Sleep Foundation poll found that 61% of women between the ages of 45 and 51 are losing sleep on a regular basis. This link between menopause and insomnia is partly to blame for menopause fatigue, in fact it plays a pretty big role in things.

What causes insomnia during menopause is a bit more complicated, but although the exact combination of symptoms or physiological issues can vary widely from person to person, your hormones are often at the root of the problem.

Menopause and Insomnia

Hormones play a pivotal role in regulating your bodys' sleep/wake cycles, and estrogen and progesterone have an significant influence on your sleep patterns.

During menopause your 'biological clock' can get seriously out-of-whack, resulting in insomnia and menopause fatigue.

Of course, hormones can also cause other insomnia-inducing problems during menopause, including hot flashes and anxiety, panic attacks and/or palpitations.

Hot flashes (or night-sweats) can be very disruptive, causing you to throw off the bedclothes, only to wake up 20 minutes later shivering. If they're really bad they can dictate a night-time change of clothes which is pretty much guaranteed to wake you up properly.

Anxiety can cause racing thoughts, panic attacks and worrying palpitations - none of these are conducive to a good nights' sleep!

Menopause fatigue is often the result of a combination of factors, and it can take the shape of a fairly constant feeling of tiredness, complete with memory problems, poor concentration, slow reactions and mood swings or it can hit you in sudden 'waves of exhaustion', making you feel as though all the energy has just been sucked right out of you.

These unexpected waves of menopause fatigue are often due to rapid changes in hormone levels, while the more 'chronic' tiredness is more likely due to the menopause and insomnia link.

If depression enters the picture, whether due to physiological or psychological factors, the risks of insomnia increase as research has found a strong link between depression and insomnia

Overcoming Menopause Fatigue

• Hormone Replacement Therapy
  

  Let's start with those hormones! Regulating your hormone levels may be the key to overcoming menopause fatigue, and it's worth exploring whether Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) may be right for you. Although there are risks and contraindications for using HTR (which mean that it's not suitable for many groups of women, it can still play an important role for some - and has proven to be effective. To find out if Hormone Replacement Therapy could help you, check out this link...HRT - Your favorite resource for Hormone Replacement Therapy



• Improving Your Sleep Habits
  

  Over time, many of us slide into 'bad habits' when it comes to getting our zzz's. We may use our bedrooms as a sort of home-office-cum-storage-room, stay up too late watching TV or trawling through cyber-space, or drink, smoke or eat too close to bedtime. There are a so many things we can do that can make our menopause fatigue worse and increase our risks of insomnia. To learn more about these, and how to tackle them, check out my Sleep Hygiene page right now.



• Reducing Anxiety Levels
  

  If you're always feeling jittery or anxious, and you have trouble sleeping at night because of your racing thoughts, learning to relax can really help. There are many different relaxation techniques to choose from, and there's something to suit everyone. Visit my Ten Techniques for Relaxation page to find out more.



• Alternative Therapies and Natural Supplements
  

  Your menopause fatigue may also be helped by trying alternative therapies such as acupuncture or aromatherapy, or by taking natural supplements such as Melatonin or a natural sleep aid. They can be very effective, and usually don't have the unwanted side-effects of over-the-counter sleep aids or insomnia medications. There are also a lot of natural treatments for menopause symptoms.

  You can find info on the best vitamins and herbal remedies for menopause on my Natural Remedies for Menopause

page. In addition to the vitamins and herbs mentioned above, compounds called Bioflavanoids can be helpful in reducing those hot flashes.

Also, take a look at this step-by-step manual and learn how to use alternative natural therapies to eliminate menopause symptoms.... How To Conquer Menopause

It has lots of great information and covers everything you need to know about herbs and other alternative approaches.

Before you decide to take any type of supplement or medication you do need to discuss your symptoms and general health with your doctor. Some medications can have side effects which actually increase insomnia, and just because a product is labeled 'natural' doesn't necessarily make it safe!

Checking with your doctor should always be your first move. Also, it's important to realize that constant fatigue can be a symptom of several different illnesses or conditions, and not all fatigue is 'menopause fatigue'.

You can find out more about this, and see a list of the most common diseases/health issues which can have extreme fatigue as a symptom on my Causes of Extreme Fatigue page.

If severe fatigue has caused a drastic reduction in your abilities or activity level, and/or you are also experiencing body aches, headaches, and/or having swollen lymph nodes, take a look at my list of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms as you may be suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), or Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome).

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