One of the most overlooked drivers of weight gain in perimenopause and menopause isn’t food.
It’s sleep quality.
When deep, restorative sleep is disrupted: Your body responds quickly:
- Cortisol rises
- Insulin sensitivity declines
- Hunger hormones increase
- Fat storage becomes more efficient
This is physiology, not willpower.
When my patient Cecile was here for her Initial visit recently, her main concern was that she had not been sleeping well for over 10 years. Her sleep had also become worse every year with Daylight Savings time occurs in early spring. Her other doctors had prescribed prescription sleeping medications for her but they didn’t help sleep any better and cause her to wake up groggy every day. Over the counter “sleep aids’ were no help either. She had trouble falling asleep, and she woke up almost every night at 3am, and was unable to fall back to sleep again. She got up every morning, feeling exhausted and said she felt like a “zombie” all day long. She craved sugar, carbs and salty snacks, and had gained 30 lb. Cecile tried every diet and weight loss medication available but was not able to lose any weight.
We tested Cecile’s cortisol, neurotransmitters and hormones, plus made changes to her diet. She started exercising every day and incorporated my recommendations for stress management and good sleep hygiene habits.
Within a week she was able to fall asleep easily and stay asleep through the night. Her energy has returned, and the weight has started to come off.
This is why I always come back to one foundational principle:
Support your sleep, and everything else becomes easier, including weight loss.
When your sleep improves:
- Your metabolism becomes more responsive
- Cravings become easier to manage
- Energy stabilizes
- Your body is more willing to release excess weight
- You get into deep, restorative sleep
- Blood pressure and blood sugar decrease
- Neurotransmitters become balanced
- Healthy cortisol patterns return
- Hormones realign
- Metabolic repair processes, allowing your body to release excess weight
My approach to help women get great sleep is to get to the ROOT CAUSE of why they can’t fall asleep or wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep.
No stimulants. No harsh ingredients.
Just targeted support for the systems that matter.
I look at your cortisol levels at night, in the morning and during the day, and all your hormones using an advanced, cutting-edge test called the DUTCH Complete test, which tells us if you are making enough of your own Melatonin and Progesterone.
Also, it will show us exactly if, and when your Cortisol levels are spiking during the night, causing you to wake up.
Other root causes include imbalances in hormones and calming neurotransmitters, nutritional deficiencies, unhealthy microbiome, and lifestyle factors.
You deserve a good night’s sleep!
Your health deserves it too.
Click here to schedule a Free Sleep Consultation with me and start sleeping again!
In Health ,
Dr. Helene