Quick Links ‹
Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders. It can not only affect sleep, but also your physical and mental health. Sleep is crucial for a healthy body and mind, but when insomnia and hot flashes cause poor sleep, it can take a tremendous toll on the body. Fortunately, our team can evaluate sleep quality and offer a variety of ways to achieve a favorable sleep quality improvement.
What is Insomnia?
Insomnia means you have difficulty falling asleep and/or staying asleep. It can also mean getting a full night’s sleep, but not feeling rested (called sleep efficiency). People with insomnia often wake up still feeling exhausted and have difficulty functioning during the day, only to be unable to sleep at night. Everyone experiences insomnia from time to time, although it’s typically acute (or short term). Chronic insomnia occurs at least three times per week and lasts longer than three months. Insomnia is treatable, and new state-of-the-art treatments can result in better objective sleep outcomes.
WHAT CAUSES INSOMNIA?
Poor sleep regulation can be caused by low hormone levels, stress, mental health disorders, hot flashes, night sweats, poor sleep habits, or taking certain medications. Insomnia can also be caused by stress and other psychological issues, chronic pain or illness such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, sleep disorders, sleep apnea, or changes to your sleeping habits.
Insomnia and Menopause
Insomnia is common in early menopausal women who experience sleep disturbances called menopausal sleep disturbances. These might be menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, or simply a disrupted sleep pattern (sometimes called a progesterone alleviated sleep disturbance). Menopausal insomnia is typically the result of low hormone levels such as estrogen and progesterone, which also causes cessation of the menstrual cycle. It’s also very common – many women report problems sleeping during the menopausal transition, and even postmenopausal women can have difficulty sleeping because of hot flashes.
Insomnia and Sleep Disorders
Sleep disorders can also play a key role in insomnia, especially those that cause major sleep disturbances throughout the night. These can disrupt sleep and cause feelings of anxiety or depression around sleeping, leading to reduced sleep quality. Sleep apnea is another common cause of insomnia, which causes consistent waking throughout the night.
Quick Links ‹
SYMPTOMS OF INSOMNIA
Depressive symptoms are very common in people with insomnia. These may include difficulty concentrating or staying present throughout the day. You may also feel tired and sleepy throughout the day but have difficulty resting at night. You may even have feelings of anxiety about your sleep problems. Many people with insomnia see a marked decline in job or school performance because of errors or mistakes due to chronic fatigue.
CAN INSOMNIA BE CURED?
It may seem like you’ll never have a full night’s sleep again, but insomnia is treatable and perhaps even curable. Self reported sleep difficulty like insomnia is the subject of much study to evaluate sleep disorders and determine their underlying causes, as well as the the theoretical and therapeutic implications of existing treatments. Additionally, insomnia as a sleep disturbance remains vague since it impacts everyone differently – and standardizing sleep assessments tools is lacking, making it difficult to evaluate self reported sleep quality objectively. However, at Lakefront Wellness, we remain ahead of ongoing and unpublished trials to offer only the best treatments for insomnia.
When Should I Seek Care?
If your insomnia continues at least three nights per week for a consecutive three months, you can be diagnosed with chronic insomnia disorder. Chronic insomnia can lead to other medical and mental health problems such as obesity, diabetes, a weakened immune system, anxiety, heart disease, and more. It’s important to get treatment for insomnia since poor sleep quality can have a significant impact on your longevity and overall wellness.
If your insomnia is affecting your ability to function or if you have related symptoms caused by insomnia, you should schedule an appointment today.
How is Insomnia Treated?
At Lakefront Wellness, we offer a variety of options for insomnia and will create a personalized treatment plan for your needs. The first step is to evaluate chronic insomnia and learn more about possible causes.
Our team will assess sleep quality during a consultation and learn more about your mental health, sleep problems, perceived sleep quality measured, and goals for treatment. Getting relief from insomnia and improving sleep quality is possible with the help of our knowledgeable team.
Compounded Micronized Melatonin for Insomnia
Compounded micronized melatonin is prescribed as a sustained-release pill that keeps your body in a deep sleep for the entire night. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland and has a crucial role in the circadian rhythm, the cycle of when your body wakes and sleeps. Taking melatonin before you go to sleep improves your sleep latency, or the time it takes you to fall asleep when you turn the lights out. Melatonin also keeps your body in the REM sleep stage longer, which means your body is getting deeper, better sleep.
Although melatonin can be purchased over the counter, micronized melatonin is a much higher-quality substance with more accurate dosage. In over fifteen randomized controlled trials, accumulating clinical data demonstrated drastically improved subjective sleep quality and self reported sleep outcomes.
Hormone Therapy for Insomnia
For early menopausal women and even postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy like progesterone may be used to treat sleep problems. Some women benefit from menopausal hormone therapy containing estrogen and progesterone, called combined hormone replacement therapy. Estrogen and progesterone are hormones that become less plentiful with age. Restoring low hormone levels has been shown by randomized controlled trial data to significantly improve menopausal sleep quality and postmenopausal sleep quality – it also reduces symptoms like night sweats and hot flashes, meaning subjective sleep quality showed significant improvement. Low dose hormone therapy can also help alleviate other menopausal symptoms such as fatigue, hot flashes, mood problems, and sexual dysfunction in recently menopausal women.
WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR INSOMNIA?
Many patients are able to enjoy long-term results from hormone replacement therapy for insomnia, while others must also implement treatment options like medications, sleep hygiene, mental health treatment, treating vasomotor symptoms, and more. No matter the causes that affect sleep quality and the treatment outlook, our team is here to help you alleviate sleep disturbance and achieve better subjective sleep scores.
Schedule a Consultation
If you’ve been having hot flashes and poor health related quality of sleep that prevents you from getting the rest you need, you may able to benefit from hormone replacement therapy. Visit Lakefront Wellness to explore ways to get improved sleep quality and enjoy a good night’s sleep again.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Schedule a consultation with Lakefront Wellness online or call us at 901-295-0036,
