Conquering the 3 AM Menopause Wake-Up: 5 Free Strategies to Reclaim Your Sleep

Are hormonal changes robbing you of rest? You're not alone. In this deeply personal episode, Tina opens up about her journey from being a perfect sleeper to battling relentless insomnia during perimenopause and menopause. She shares the frustrating cycle of sleepless nights and exhausted days, and more importantly, the five practical, free strategies that helped her break free.

This isn't about quick fixes or expensive solutions; it's about foundational shifts that calm your nervous system and reset your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. Tina delves into the science of why these methods work and offers adaptable tips for every lifestyle, including a brilliant hack for exercising indoors during winter.

If you're ready to move from desperate to rested, this episode is your compassionate, actionable guide.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

01:30 Tina's personal story: From lifelong good sleeper to menopause insomnia sufferer.
06:15 Pillar #1: Get Active to Reset Your Clock. Why outdoor movement is a double-duty sleep aid and a creative indoor solution for cold climates (hello, YouTube walking tours!).
12:00 Pillar #2: Daily Nervous System Support. Beyond meditation: the power of daily dance, life-changing Yoga Nidra ("deep rest without sleep"), and how your food choices directly impact sleep quality.
20:10 The critical mindset shift for healthy eating that removes the struggle.
22:45 Pillar #3: Track Your Caffeine. The surprising reason your metabolism has changed, how to find your personal caffeine cutoff, and how to enjoy your ritual without the sleep sabotage.
27:05 Pillar #4: Control Nighttime Screen Time. It's not just about blue light, it's about content. How to curate your evenings for calm.
29:20 Pillar #5: Create a "Sleep Anchor" Nighttime Routine. How consistency trains your body to wind down. Plus, a list of relaxing practices to mix and match, and the truth about bedtime journaling.
34:00 The important medical step you should consider (checking for deficiencies and hormones).
35:50 Final encouragement: How to start implementing without feeling overwhelmed.

Mentioned Resources & Links:

Yoga Nidra Teacher: Ally Boothroyd's YouTube Channel
Upcoming Sleep Meditation: Subscribe to our, Soul Aligned Life, to be notified when our 2-hour guided Sleep Meditation (with breathwork, affirmations, and music) launches next week!
Calm Vibes Essential Oil Roller: Part of the Aligned Infusions skincare line. Perfect for bedside table use. Soul Aligned Infusions
Connect with Tina: https://www.tinastinson.com

Key Quotes:

"I was the type of person who slept perfectly my entire life. This is the first time I'm having trouble sleeping. It's hitting me hard."
"It's not about perfection, it's about progress. Pick one or two of these things and test them. See what works for you."
"Creating a nighttime routine is an anchor for your body. Over time, your body recognizes it and thinks, 'Oh, this means we're getting ready for bed.'"
"As we age, our liver metabolizes caffeine more slowly. This isn't a weakness; it's just science."

Subscribe & Review:
If this episode helped you, please subscribe to The Soul Align Self-Care Podcast on [Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.]. Leaving a review helps other women find this community and support.

A full transcript of this episode is available below.

Xo, T

Episode Transcript

Hey guys, welcome back to the SoulAlignSelfCare podcast.

Today we are talking about how to sleep better,

specifically from my menopausal point of view.

But not all these things that I'm gonna talk about today,

and I'm gonna give you five different things

that have worked for me and for others.

They could be used for anybody

who's having trouble sleeping.

So if you're struggling with the classic menopause wake up

at 3 a.m., and you're not alone,

but there's many people that struggle with sleep

every single day, it's a very big problem.

But one of the things that I'm experiencing

are the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause.

It really disrupts your sleep.

And so I had to really dig deep and see what works,

and I'm gonna share those things with you today.

So it usually goes like this for me.

I sleep great one night, and then the next day,

I'll fall asleep, I'll be tired,

and I feel tired, and I fall asleep.

But then I wake up usually around three or four,

but sometimes even as early as like 11.30,

you know, I'll go to bed at like nine or something

'cause I'm so tired, I'll wake up at 11.30 thinking

it's like five, and I'm like, oh my God,

it's only 11.30, and then I struggle

for the rest of the night.

So, and then that day around 4 p.m.,

I'm exhausted, but I forced myself to stay up

so that I have a normal night sleep the next night.

So I'm really, you know, sleeping good every other night,

which just doesn't really cut it, right?

And so I've really had to work on this,

and I've been searching for a doctor to help me

with the hormones, and now that I'm in a new city,

and this is more available to me,

I'm assuming that I'm going to find this.

So I'll keep you posted as I work towards that,

but right now these are the things

that you could do for yourself, you know,

by yourself that are free, okay?

So these are very, very helpful,

because this cycle that I'm on right now,

I can't sustain this.

I don't think anybody really can sustain

a terrible sleep cycle for too long.

So I'm gonna give you these five things

and tell you some of the ways that I do them,

but what I really want you to do is see what works for you.

These are just ideas that work for a lot of people,

but see which ones resonate with you the most,

even if you only employ one of these things,

that would be great, but see what works for you.

So the first one, I'm gonna jump right into it.

The first one that really, really helps me is getting active,

especially outdoors.

This helps kind of reset your clock.

So you'll notice that when you're active,

especially when it involves being outdoors,

you'll sleep better.

Exercise increases your body's need for rest.

It depletes your energy, raises your body temperature,

and it creates like micro tears in your muscles.

So this makes you physically tired

and gives you your body like a clear, urgent job

to do during the sleep, rest, repair, and recover.

And so movement is really, really beneficial,

especially when you go outside and you expose yourself

to sunlight.

It helps calibrate your circadian rhythm.

It signals your brain to suppress melatonin,

the sleep hormone, during the day, making you more alert.

And then when darkness comes, your body produces more melatonin

earlier and more robustly, making you sleep be

at the appropriate time, okay?

So it's just, that's like a double dose of help

for your sleep, doing your exercise outdoors.

Now, I completely understand if you're

in the north and it's cold, and it's really hard

for you to get outside, I definitely struggled,

really, really hard with getting appropriate exercise

in the winter where I used to live now that I've moved.

And this is one of the reasons that I did move

was because I love being active, I love being outdoors.

And I really do get, I don't think the winters

are really healthy, healthy, sorry,

for me in the northeast.

I would almost get slightly depressed.

And then once you get into that moody area,

it's really hard for you to incorporate movement,

especially outside when it's freezing.

Well, you feel like your eyeballs are gonna freeze to your eyelids.

So being here is really helpful to me.

But another thing that I did when I was living

where it was really cold was I got a walking pad

so I could walk indoors.

And one of my favorite things to do, I love sharing this

because it was a lot of fun was to go on YouTube

and they have these people that make these videos

where they walk and they run all over the world.

So I pick some place that I always wanted to go

so say you wanna go to Italy or whatever.

And you pick a town in Italy, you go on YouTube

and you can find a walking tour of that town.

And I would turn the sound off on the TV

and sometimes even listen to music and just watch.

Sometimes, it depends on the creator that's doing the video.

Some of them are really good.

Some of them, it's just the background noise of the town

and that might be something that you like

'cause you feel like you're there.

But this was a really, really cool way to take my brain

out of that winter seasonal depression kind of feeling.

And so that really helped me move.

I wasn't outdoors but it helped me move and walk more.

And I really, really enjoyed seeing all the different towns

very interesting actually.

Okay, so that's number one, get active.

This just really helps you sleep better.

I noticed that the days that I'm the most active

are the days that I sleep the best.

Okay, number two, support your health

and your nervous system daily.

So while the outdoor activity and the exercise

both help support your nervous system and your health,

there are so many other ways that you could do this

on the daily and I'm gonna give you a few

that I kind of incorporate into my life almost every day,

if not every day, a couple of times a week.

Okay, the first is meditation and breath work.

I love doing guided meditations and breath work

but very recently I started just setting a timer

on my phone and closing my eyes

and guiding myself back to my breath.

And then afterwards I journal

and I love doing this.

You don't have to do it long either.

You could set a timer on your phone for five, 10,

15 minutes, whatever you wanna start with.

If it's new to you, start with five minutes

but I find this really grounding

and it helps me connect with myself

which is something that we need.

A lot of people never take the time

to connect with themselves in a week

let alone every single day.

So doing this five minute exercise,

every single day can really support your nervous system

and your health.

The second thing is something that I recommend

to pretty much everybody I work with,

whether it's one on one or in group sessions

and to support the nervous system

and that is to dance to your favorite song

every single day.

So put your favorite song on in the morning at night

whenever you wanna do it and just dance.

It helps you release the stress of the day.

We hold everything in our body, right?

In our muscles everywhere.

So we hold and if we don't release that,

we're just holding it there at that tension

and by dancing movement really helps you release that

and I find it one of the things that I used to

kind of recommend was shaking,

just like shaking your arms, shaking your legs

and it was much easier to get people to dance

and when you're dancing, you're shaking everything.

And so just put on your favorite song and dance

and do that every single day

if not a couple of times a day

and that will help support your nervous system.

The third thing that has been,

oh, it's just changed my life is doing a yoga

knee-dra meditation.

Now I started doing this right at the beginning

of my menopause journey because I wasn't sleeping

and I was listening to a podcast

and I think it was, what's his name?

Hmm, his last name is Hubertman

and I'm trying to think of the name of the podcast

and I'm so sorry, it's just like I'm blanking out right now

and they talked about yoga knee-dra

and it's called Deep Rest Without Sleep

or something like that

and I was like, let me try that

because those nights when I wasn't sleeping

the next day like I said, I would crash it like three or four o'clock

instead of like, you know, drinking a lot of coffee

which would keep me awake again

and just like have this never ending cycle of sleeplessness

let me do a yoga knee-dra meditation

and see if this will give me the rest I need

to make it through the rest of my day

and not disrupt my sleep that night.

And so I started doing this

and it was most yoga knee-dra meditations,

the shortest they usually are is 20 minutes

so sometimes it's really hard

if you're not a person that's meditated before

it might be a big ask for you to sit

and listen to one of these for 20 minutes

but I'm telling you it's very, very beneficial

for when you're tired, for stress, for anxiety,

for just about everything

and one of my favorite things to do

is to do a yoga knee-dra meditation

after I do a yoga class.

So a lot of times I'm doing a yoga class in my living room

I'll do a 30 minute yoga class

sometimes I'll even do a Yin yoga class

which is really chill

and then afterwards instead of going into Shavasana

I will do a yoga knee-dra meditation

and at the combo of those two is absolutely amazing

for your nervous system daily.

And so I would suggest that you try that.

My it was so powerful for me

that now I'm going through a yoga knee-dra certification

so that I can create these meditations

for all of you myself

but that's how beneficial it was for me

and I found Ali Boothroyd on YouTube

and I am doing her certification

and it's fantastic.

I can't, I highly recommend her

and the other teachers just amazing

and she has a YouTube channel

and you should go check her out.

She's just amazing.

I'll put a link in the show notes so you could check her out.

But that has been very, very beneficial for me

and I like doing it after yoga.

A lot of people like doing it before bed

because it's easier to sit for 20, 30, 40 minutes

before bed because you're trying to fall asleep anyway, right?

And but I like it for that afternoon slump for that reason

just to give myself that deep rest without sleep

and it's fantastic.

Now another thing to do

to support your health in your nervous system

every single day is to eat real food

and I know that sounds funny when you say it

because you're like, of course I'm gonna eat real food Tina

why wouldn't I eat real food?

But a lot of the food that we purchase is so full,

it's so, oh my God, it's just so processed

that it's really not food, right?

And I think we're all aware of this now

that in the United States that our food system

is really hurting right now

and you have to be very intentional to eat healthy

like very intentional, which really really sucks

'cause it just makes it a little more work and harder to do

but if you simply think of it as eating food

with limited ingredients, it's a lot easier.

So when you go to the food store,

you're shopping on the outer edge of the food store

for like the veggies and if you eat meat,

the meat and the fish, I don't eat meat and fish,

I'm vegetarian but or dairy.

So all those fresh foods that have limited ingredients

so like the apple, there's no ingredients,

a sweet potato, there's no ingredients.

You know, like just think of it that way,

pasta should have just two ingredients.

You know, so start reading the labels

and buying and eating and preparing food that's real.

So when you're eating real food,

you automatically remove the added sugar and the chemicals,

right?

So instead of focusing on taking the sugar out of all your food

or taking all the preservatives and chemicals out of your food,

all you have to do is focus on eating real food.

So instead of focusing on removing,

just focus on adding the things that are real,

limited ingredients, okay?

Because when you also do this,

not only you're removing the added sugar and salts

and chemicals, but you're also adding nutrients

to the body antioxidants.

And these are things that your body needs to sleep better.

For example, if you have a magnesium deficiency,

that could interrupt your sleep.

There's so many things that disrupt our sleep.

So by eating well and I always say,

don't get too serious about it.

Like I don't eat perfectly all the time.

I always try to focus like on an 80, 20 thing.

So 80% of the time I'm eating really, really well.

And then 20% of the time,

I'm allowing myself to have fun and eat crap sometimes,

you know what I'm saying?

So another thing to be mindful of is eating too close

to bedtime because when your body is trying to digest food,

it could be a little disruptive when you're trying

to sleep especially if you have digestive issues.

So try to leave a couple hours

of it chewing the last time you eat and bedtime.

I try to do like, I try to do like before seven,

but most of the time I eat pretty early around five

because sometimes I'm not eating a big lunch,

I'm just snacking at lunch time.

I'll eat a big breakfast in a dinner.

In the summertime sometimes I eat a big breakfast,

big lunch and then I snack for dinner.

So it just depends on your schedule,

but it's very, very helpful to help your body sleep better.

And the last thing I want to add for supporting your health

in your nervous system is to make sure you're having fun

every day and joy into your life every single day.

Don't just save it up for the weekend.

I know this sounds like it's too simple to make a difference,

but having fun every single day is something

every human being needs.

And it's not something to say, okay,

everything's gonna be shitty until I hit the weekend

and then when I hit the weekend, I'm gonna have fun.

Be sure you're adding something every single day

that lights you up just a little bit.

It doesn't have to be anything big, just something you enjoy.

Now, okay, moving on to number three.

This one, everyone's gonna hate me for,

but it's just so true and it not only did this have

an amazing effect on my sleep,

but on my anxiety levels, okay?

So that's another thing that can go up as you go through

my nopause, just because of your loss of estrogen,

your anxiety levels can get a lot worse.

And this is definitely one of the symptoms I noticed,

was one of the first symptoms I noticed,

but I didn't know it was from my hormonal changes.

I just thought something was going on, and I didn't know what.

So track your caffeine and how it affects you, okay?

So as we age, our liver metabolizes caffeine more slowly.

And this is why I used to be able to have coffee at like an 8 p.m.

or even like right before I slept,

but now that keeps me up, I can't do that anymore.

I could have coffee, I swear to God,

I could have coffee right before bed and sleep fine.

I also wanna add,

before I should have did this at the beginning of the podcast,

but I never had trouble sleeping.

I was the type of person who slept perfectly my entire life.

This is the first time in my life I'm having trouble sleeping.

So it's hitting me hard, okay?

But now I stop my caffeine at 3 p.m. the latest.

Otherwise, it'll keep me up.

That's just how it is.

And I know we think it's really funny how older people

don't drink coffee like late, but it's just science.

Like, your body is handling caffeine differently.

Also, every person handles caffeine differently.

Everybody metabolizes it differently.

So that's why I said, track your caffeine and how it affects you

because everybody is different.

What works for me might not work for you.

You might need to stop drinking coffee at 12

or maybe you can have a cup of coffee after dinner.

Everybody's different.

So I love my morning coffee.

I love coffee period.

So I always want more than one cup.

So what I did was I switched to half-capped

just so that I could still have my two cups in the morning

'cause that was my routine.

And it's all about the routine

and what I enjoy.

I enjoy how it tastes.

I enjoy the whole, like I love sitting down

and reading my book in the morning

and watching the sunrise with my coffee.

It's just a whole thing for me.

So I lowered my caffeine and take really slowly, right?

So that I didn't get any of the side effects,

like the headaches and stuff like that

and just like cut myself off.

And so when I make my coffee in the morning,

I have two things of coffee.

I have my decaf and I have my regular

and I just mix it myself.

Now if you go to a coffee shop every morning,

they could do this for you too.

Okay?

So start to pay attention how caffeine affects you

and makes small adjustments to help you fall

and stay asleep, okay?

It really, really makes a big difference.

And remember this caffeine and a lot of things too.

So this caffeine in tea, okay?

But some teas, then there's herbal tea

that doesn't have any caffeine.

So pay attention, soda, a lot of soda has caffeine in it.

So pay attention to where you get your caffeine from.

Okay, number four, control your screen time at night.

This one can be hard.

We all love to scroll on our phones,

but this disrupts our sleep for a couple of reasons.

First, some of the things we expose ourselves to

on our phones, TV, computer can cause like real stress,

even if it's just like a movie that's a stressful movie.

And you might not think it's a stressful movie,

Conquering the 3 AM Menopause Wake-Up: 5 Free Strategies to Reclaim Your Sleep

Don't Miss Out!

Want to learn how to take care of yourself at the highest level?

If you're in need of some deep-level self-care sign up for the SASC VIP News below.

You'll also be the first to know about any special offers, workshops and free events!!