Travis Rathbone

Helpful solutions to issues with sleeping well.

Hot flashes may be keeping you up and insomnia can actually get worse after menopause. The reason: Various age-related ailments can lead to sleep issues, and so can the medicines we take for them, says internist and sleep-medicine specialist Raj Dasgupta, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "Depression is linked to insomnia, for example, but the drugs we prescribe for it selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can also cause insomnia." Try this...

Sleep in a cave. Get blackout shades for your bedroom, cover power lights on electronics and dim your clock's display. Keep your room at a cool 60 to 65 degrees, which can help fend off hot flashes.

Ban gadgets in bed. The blue light from your smartphone or tablet screen suppresses melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone. A study in the journal PNAS showed that people who read print books right before bed slept better than those who read e-books on a tablet.

Don't just lie there. When you're counting sheep, get up, go to another room and do something low key, like knitting or reading (no TV!), until you feel sleepy again.

Act now if: Bad sleep is affecting your ability to function during the day. Insomnia can be a symptom of other health issues, such as arthritis, hyperthyroidism and acid reflux. It also increases your risk of serious accidents. Tell your doctor about it.

Read the original here:
Mysteries of the Female Body - AARP News

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