Ep. 581 "Hack Your Vagus Nerve” – Simple Daytime Rituals To End 3:00 AM Wake-Ups

Welcome to this week’s Midlife Minute episode.

Today, I answer a question from a 55-year-old postmenopausal woman on HRT who still wakes up multiple times at night. I also explore the factors that tend to affect women’s sleep in midlife and offer practical strategies for better sleep.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

• How sleep apnea shows up differently in women than it does in men

• Why being constantly sympathetic dominant may interfere with your sleep

• How not eating enough protein, healthy carbohydrates, fiber, and healthy fats can spike your cortisol overnight

• How drops in progesterone and changes in estrogen can impact GABA and glutamate

• The importance of doing vagal exercise during the day and gearing down before bed 

• Some simple vagus nerve practices to support relaxation

• How alterations in progesterone and estrogen impact neurotransmitters

• My favorite supplement for supporting sleep, and adaptogenic herbs that buffer cortisol

Connect with Cynthia Thurlow  

• Follow on X, Instagram & LinkedIn

• Check out Cynthia’s website

• Submit your questions to support@cynthiathurlow.com

• Join other like-minded women in a supportive, nurturing community: The Midlife Pause/Cynthia Thurlow 

• Cynthia’s Menopause Gut Book is on presale now!

• Cynthia’s Intermittent Fasting Transformation Book

• The Midlife Pause Supplement Line

Links:

1. Sleep and sleep disorders in the menopausal transition (Research Link)

2. The Sleep Goddess Reveals the Truth About Sleep, Menopause & Hidden Sleep Disorders | A. Matsumura (YouTube) 

3. Pulsetto (Affiliate link): Discount code: CYNTHIA