This International Women’s Day, Woolroom’s (the UK’s leading luxury wool bedding retailer) objective is to change the conversation around menopause by offering solutions to help women across the UK suffering from symptoms such as night sweats and hot flushes get a better night’s sleep and feel more energized going into a new day.
Menopause is often seen as a taboo subject but as a natural and biological process of women’s lives, getting comfortable with talking about menopause has never been so important. According to a Nuffield Health Group study*, 67% of women going through menopause feel like they have little help and support, with The Sleep Foundation** reporting that sleeping disorders affect 39 to 47 percent of perimenopausal women and 35 to 60 percent of postmenopausal women. This International Women’s Day, Woolroom hopes to make more women feel like they’re not alone and offer solutions that will help with a better night’s sleep, including turning to wool – a fibre that can help ease the symptoms of night sweats and hot flushes. If hot flushes are keeping you awake at night, Woolroom recommends reading our guide on how to sleep better with menopause and have a well-deserved break from the night sweats.
Chris Tattersall, Clean Sleep Environment Expert and MD of Woolroom comments: “Dismantling the barriers around the topic of menopause has never been so important, especially when women around the nation are struggling with these debilitating symptoms. We know that a poor night’s sleep is linked to night sweats and hot flushes and there’s often a lack of awareness[LT1] around the natural benefits of British wool, and its ability to absorb moisture and essentially cool you down.
We are determined more than ever, to continue in our mission to educate the nation of this miracle fibre throughout International Woman’s Day and help women suffering from night sweats and hot flushes achieve a clean night’s sleep and, subsequently, achieve better health and wellbeing.”
What causes menopausal night sweats?
Night sweats in women during the menopause are caused by a fluctuation in oestrogen levels, which ultimately confuses the hypothalamus – the part of the brain that controls body temperature. The hypothalamus reacts quickly to cool the body down, and in doing so, mistakenly heats the body up by expanding blood vessels that release heat and subsequentially cue sweat glands to perspire. Although the body can experience hot flushes at any point of the day, at night-time they are harder to manage, causing you to wake up feeling sweaty, cold and often with heart palpitations. Unfortunately, for many women, menopause and sleep don’t often go hand-in-hand, however, taking these steps before going to bed and during the night can help alleviate the symptoms of night sweats.
Stop triggers
We all enjoy having a cup of tea or a glass of wine before going to bed, however, caffeine and alcohol are known to worsen the effects of hot flushes and sweating at night. Other significant triggers of night sweats include smoking tobacco and eating spicy foods. If you’re unsure which of these triggers are affecting you, keep a journal by noting down any patterns you notice appearing.
Relieve hot flushes
Ways to relieve menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes include yoga or any kind of cardiorespiratory fitness as it has proven to help reduce symptoms during the day and night.
Finding ways to relax is especially important, while sometimes hard to achieve when waking in the middle of the night feeling cold and sweaty, many studies have shown that breathing exercises can help you fall back to sleep. Practising deep breathing throughout the day is also known to help lessen the amount of night sweats occurrences. Top tip: Keep an atomiser on your bedside table handy for when you feel yourself overheating.
Staying cool at night
Creating a comfortable sleeping environment with a natural fibre such as wool is great for ensuring your body stays cool and moisture is kept away while sleeping. Wool bedding, including a wool mattress, wool mattress protector, wool pillows, and even wool duvets are a great way to keep your body at the right temperature. Investing in a cool bedding fibre such as wool will ensure you stay comfortable throughout the night and achieve an undisturbed sleep.
Another way to help your body regulate heat is to choose a lighter duvet and opt for wool blankets to layer on bedding as wool blankets are easy to throw off in the night if you start overheating. Another way to alleviate menopausal night sweats is to wear loose pyjamas or fabrics in light cotton or silk as these natural fibres will allow your body to breathe, keeping you cooler at night.
If night sweats and hot flushes are keeping you awake at night, Woolroom recommends reading more about the benefits of wool and how this natural fibre can help relieve symptoms of the menopause on our blog here: Night Sweats and Sleep.
