How to sleep better during menopause: Top foods to add and avoid

In this episode of Joyful Menopause, host Lynda Enright discusses how sleep disruptions are common for women in midlife, often due to menopause. 

She explores the impact of diet on sleep quality, focusing on foods rich in magnesium, tryptophan, and those that regulate blood sugar. Lynda also shares dietary and lifestyle tips to improve sleep, such as avoiding caffeine, alcohol, and refined carbs. 

The episode concludes with a success story of a client named Christine, who transformed her health by following these recommendations. Practical and science-based, this episode offers actionable advice to help women achieve better sleep and overall wellness during menopause.

00:00 Introduction to Sleep Disruptions in Midlife

01:29 Understanding Hormonal Impact on Sleep

02:09 Foods to Improve Sleep Quality

05:05 Foods to Avoid for Better Sleep

06:33 The Role of Physical Activity in Sleep

07:40 Christine's Transformation Story

09:30 Conclusion and Final Tips

When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you to feel your best during perimenopause and menopause:

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2. Click here to get the free guide: 5 Natural Ways To Reduce Menopause Symptoms.

2. For more information about Lynda and how she supports women on their health journey, click here to learn more.

3. Interested in seeing if nutrition coaching with Lynda is right for you? Click here to book a free discovery call with Lynda.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
If you have found yourself wideawake at 2 a.
m.
feeling hot, restless, andfrustrated, you are not alone.
60 percent of women in midlifereport sleep disruptions, which
are often tied to menopause.
And while there are manyfactors, today we're going to
focus on one area that's bothsimple and powerful.

(00:21):
Hello and welcome to joyfulmenopause, where we dive into
all things, wellness, nutrition,and health specifically for
women navigating the years ofperimenopause and menopause.
I'm your host, Lynda Enright.
And today we're addressing atopic I hear about all the time
from the women I work with in mypractice in this stage of life,
sleep or rather lack thereof.
Diet plays a significant role inhow well we sleep, especially in

(00:44):
midlife when our bodies arealready managing hormonal
changes.
If you are lying awakefrustrated in the middle of the
night or just want to preventthat from happening in the
future, you'll learn today howto set yourself up for a good
night's sleep and what foods toavoid to keep from making things
worse.
And I have a really great storyat the end today about Christine
who has truly transformed herlife and health with just one of

(01:06):
the choices I'm going to talkabout today.
So let's get started.
Menopause doesn't have to feellike you are living in someone
else's body.
Your host, Lynda Enright, hasspent the last 25 years helping
women to thrive in midlife.
Here you'll find science basedpractical advice that you can
start using today to get realresults for your health.
Welcome to Joyful Menopause.

(01:29):
First, let's talk about what'sgoing on inside your body that
might be keeping you up atnight.
When estrogen and progesteronedecline, it can impact your
cycle, and it can also create aperfect storm of sleep problems.
Their impact on your quality ofsleep can include hot flashes or
night sweats, increasedrestlessness, and less feeling
calm at bedtime, and thendifficulty entering REM sleep

(01:51):
and getting into that deep,restful phase of your sleep at
night.
This is a normal process.
Estrogen and progesteronenaturally decline during this
phase of life, but you can makechoices that support relaxation
and stabilize your blood sugar,two big factors in improving
sleep quality.
Let's start with the foods thatcan give you an advantage when

(02:12):
it comes to sleep quality.
There are three categories,foods that are rich in
magnesium, those high intryptophan, and foods also that
support healthy blood sugarregulation.
These are the three foods thatare rich in magnesium, those
high in tryptophan, and foodsalso that support healthy blood
sugar regulation.
Magnesium rich foods areimportant because magnesium is
really good at calming yournervous system and promoting
relaxation.
Magnesium has the potential toimprove sleep quality by helping

(02:35):
your muscles relax andsupporting the production of
melatonin.
which is your natural sleephormone.
Foods that are great sources ofmagnesium include leafy green
vegetables like spinach, kale,collard greens, and swiss chard.
Nuts and seeds, things likealmonds, pumpkin seeds, and
sunflower seeds.
Whole grains like quinoa andfarro.

(02:56):
And avocados are particularlyhigh in both magnesium and
potassium, which helps.
Muscle relaxation.
Try adding these to your eveningmeal.
For example, you might have akale and quinoa salad with
avocado and a sprinkle ofpumpkin seeds.
And that would be a powerhouseside to your meal that could
give you a good boost ofmagnesium.
We're talking today about foodsthat can help you to have a

(03:17):
better night's sleep.
Next, let's talk about foodsthat are high in tryptophan,
which can be helpful for sleepbecause tryptophan is an amino
acid that converts serotonin,which then converts into
melatonin.
And melatonin is the hormonethat tells your brain that it's
time to rest.
Foods that are high intryptophan can help us gently
prepare our bodies for sleep,especially when paired with a

(03:40):
small amount of complexcarbohydrates to support their
absorption.
Some tryptophan rich foods toconsider.
Turkey and chicken is one you'veprobably heard a lot about, that
post Thanksgiving sleepiness.
There's actually a real reasonfor that.
Eggs, a scrambled egg on wholegrain toast could be a great
combination.
Nuts and seeds again, especiallypumpkin seeds, which are rich in

(04:01):
magnesium and tryptophan.
And soy foods, like tofu ortempeh.
So if you have dinner around 6or 7, you might consider a small
tryptophan rich snack around 8.
30, like a hard boiled egg or acouple slices of turkey on whole
grain crackers.
Lastly, we want to help to keepblood sugars in check.
Choosing protein, nourishingfats, and complex carbohydrates

(04:22):
are good choices.
Unlike refined carbs and simplesugars, which spike your blood
sugar and lead to that sugarcrash, complex carbs, protein,
and fat digest more slowly,Helping to stabilize your blood
sugar levels through the night.
This is important because a dipin blood sugar can actually wake
you up, leaving you feeling wideawake and alert in the middle of

(04:44):
the night.
A great dinner might includegrilled salmon, roasted sweet
potatoes and a side of spinachwith maybe a sprinkle of
sunflower seeds.
Again, powerhouse.
This meal combines complexcarbs, magnesium, and tryptophan
rich protein, a greatcombination for a good night's
sleep.
We're talking about foods thatcan impact your sleep quantity
and quality.

(05:05):
Of course, while adding theright foods can make a
difference, avoiding certainfoods and drinks is equally
important.
Some foods can interfere withsleep by stimulating the nervous
system or causing blood sugarspikes.
First on the list is caffeine,which I know might feel obvious,
but it's worth mentioningbecause even just one afternoon
coffee or tea can impact sleepfor some people.

(05:27):
And for others, you might besurprised that even drinking too
much caffeine in the morning candisrupt sleep at night.
So if you're sensitive tocaffeine, try limiting it to the
morning hours and cutting backon quantity as well.
Second, let's talk aboutalcohol.
Many people think a glass ofwine will help them relax, but
actually alcohol disrupts thesleep cycle, especially the

(05:49):
deeper stages of sleep.
While it might help you fallasleep faster, it often leads to
lighter, more fragmented sleepand frequent wake ups in the
night.
For both caffeine and alcohol, Iencourage you to give it a try
and see if it makes adifference.
It doesn't for everyone, but myexperience is it helps a lot of
women during perimenopause andmenopause.

(06:09):
If you know, then you get todecide if it's worth it.
Finally, sugary foods andrefined carbs, things like white
bread, pasta, or sweets.
These foods can cause a bloodsugar spike and then a crash,
which can lead awakenings.
Aim to replace refined carbswith complex ones with
vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, especially in the

(06:31):
evening.
We've talked about foods thatcan have an impact on your sleep
quality, but before we wrap up,I want to mention a bit about
physical activity.
While diet plays a big role,regular movement can also
improve sleep quality by helpingto tire your body and reduce
stress.
There are a few things your bodyneeds to fall asleep.
One of those is high levels ofadenosine.

(06:52):
Maybe you've never heard ofthat.
We get this compound by burningoff energy.
Doing even 20 to 30 minutes ofmoderate exercise like walking
or gentle yoga can promotebetter sleep by helping your
body to burn off energy.
But also avoid intense workoutsright before bed as that can get
you more wound up.
During the day, finding time forexercise can go a long way

(07:14):
towards a better night's sleep.
Alright, so that's a lot to takein, but to sum it up, if you
want to improve your sleep inmidlife, focus on adding
magnesium rich foods, tryptophansources, and complex carbs to
your diet, avoiding orminimizing caffeine, alcohol,
and refined carbs, particularlyin the evening, and move your
body.
These simple shifts can go along way in helping you find the

(07:37):
restful, restorative sleep youdeserve.
And before I go, I want to tellyou about my client, Christine's
transformation.
Christine came to me because shewas frustrated.
She hadn't been able to loseweight and she was tired of hot
flashes and the brain fog shewas experiencing.
One of the first things she toldme is she thought it was
protein.
She knew she wasn't eatingenough and she thought maybe
that was what was standing inher way of getting results.

(07:59):
Christine had a busy job and wasworking 50 to 60 hours a week.
She was helping to take care ofelderly parents and spending
time with her grandkids.
Her stress level was quite highand she was sleeping about four
hours each night and was tooexhausted to get any exercise
in.
The first thing I worked on withChristine was her quality and
quantity of sleep.
Christine started making changesto her diet, adjusting some of

(08:21):
the things we've talked aboutwith magnesium and tryptophan,
and helping to regulate herblood sugar, and she started
moving more.
It was hard at first because shewas so tired, but she really
found that was a deal breaker,that when she started getting
more physical activity, Inaddition to the dietary changes,
she started sleeping.
And of course, she startedfeeling so much better.

(08:42):
Her brain fog was much improved,her hot flashes were reduced,
and she started losing weight.
Now that she was feeling better,she found it easier to plan and
prep meals, and adding in morevigorous exercise was making her
feel a lot better and continuingto improve her sleep and stress.
and help her reach her goals.
She told me that no one had everexplained to her the

(09:03):
relationship between her sleepand all the symptoms she was
experiencing.
Once she started approaching herhealth choices with this new
perspective, she finally got toa place where she felt really
great.
I really like Christine's storybecause I find it is similar to
lots of women I work with in mypractice who are in their
forties, fifties, and sixties.
Busy job, family demands, highstress, not enough sleep.

(09:25):
And as you can see fromChristine's story, results
really are possible.
Thank you for joining me today.
If you found this episodehelpful, click to subscribe and
stay tuned for more insights onthriving during menopause.
Until next time, take care ofyourself and here's to feeling
your best every day.