Good night —no, I won’t sleep
Menopause Rhapsody by Shirley Șerban
Just got to go
Gonna toss and turn and pee the whole night through!
One of the most hindering symptoms of menopause are sleep issues. They are varied and highly uncomfortable. You may experience trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep. You may be endlessly uncomfortable, struggling with temperatures, textures, postures, and many other things you paid no attention to before. You may be tired and groggy during the day, just to become energised, even restless and irritable, at night. The list is long and particular to every person going through menopause.
The good news is that you’re not alone. The fantastic reception of my first article on the topic of menopause, titled ‘The journey of the menopausal musician’, confirmed to me that this is important and that it’s worth to talk more about it. With that in mind, I wrote ‘10 Things You Can Do If You Are Sleepless And Menopausal’ with the aim to help fellow menopausal musicians (and professionals in other areas, too) get a good night of sleep.
The information I provided, which comes from my own research and experience together, is also useful for people with sleep issues unrelated to menopause. We all can use some better sleep hygiene! However, the focus is on menopause, and in regard to this topic, I invite you not to stop at my articles. Informing yourself about this natural change of the body, regardless of whether you yourself will experience it, is key to ensure that society acknowledges it and accommodates to it. We don’t have to stop doing what we love just because we are menopausal, and the more people understand this, the better!
To finish on a humorous note, listen to the whole song quoted at the beginning of this post: Shirley Șerban’s menopause parody of Bohemian Rhapsody!
