Menopause and sleep

Get your sleep back through perimenopause and menopause. These guides show what hormone and non-hormone treatments did for sleep in the trials.

• Progesterone for sleep in perimenopause: what the trials show

  Oral micronized progesterone is a bedtime hormone capsule, and the sleep evidence is small. A 2021 meta-analysis of 9 trials (388 participants) found it shortened time to fall asleep by about 7 minutes (J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2021). If flushes wake you, ask a clinician about treatment. NICE recommends menopause-specific CBT for flush-related sleep problems.

• Perimenopause insomnia: why it starts and what helps

  Perimenopause insomnia is trouble falling or staying asleep during the years before your final period. In the SWAN study, 31% to 42% of perimenopausal women reported insomnia symptoms in any given year (Obstetric and Neonatal Nursing, 2017). If hot flushes wake you, treat the flushes; if nights feel anxious, CBT-I has the strongest trial results.

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