Perimenopause & Menopause Insomnia: 3 A.M. Wake-Ups, Night Sweats & Cortisol Spikes
My Sleep Routine for Menopause Insomnia and Night Sweats
How I Finally Stopped 3 A.M. Waking Naturally
You can be doing everything right - lifting weights, walking daily, eating whole foods - and still struggle to lose weight or feel balanced.
Often the real issue isn’t your diet or workouts.
It’s menopause insomnia.
Those frustrating nights of tossing, overheating, waking at 3 a.m. wired and wide-eyed can quietly disrupt your metabolism, spike cortisol, increase cravings, and completely stall fat loss.
If you’re a woman over 40 dealing with perimenopause or postmenopause sleep disruption, you are not alone - and you are not broken.
I’ve lived this. And my approach has evolved dramatically over the years.
Why Menopause Night Sweats and Insomnia Happen
During perimenopause, progesterone declines first - often years before estrogen fully shifts.
Progesterone is your body’s natural calming hormone. It enhances GABA, your brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. It also supports temperature regulation, lowers nighttime cortisol, and promotes deeper sleep cycles.
When progesterone drops, estrogen can become relatively dominant. That imbalance can trigger:
Night sweats and hot flashes
Anxiety and restlessness
3 a.m. waking
Histamine flares
Palpitations
That classic wired-but-tired feeling
For years, I tried to manage these symptoms with a full supplement protocol. It worked for a long time.
But it wasn’t the whole story.
When I Needed the Full Supplement Stack
At the height of my menopausal insomnia, my nighttime routine included ashwagandha for stress regulation, maca during menopause years, magnesium in multiple forms for nervous system support, glycine for deeper sleep, phosphatidylserine for high cortisol evenings, schisandra to help regulate cortisol and reduce night sweats and rotating herbal blends like valerian, chamomile, passionflower, and lemon balm. I experimented with melatonin, GABA, and 5-HTP. Phew!
I will share what I take now, further down. You won’t believe it!
My Sleep Habits (for Women Over 40) That Still Support My Hormones Today
I upgraded my bedding to breathable wool and bamboo.
Bamboo Bedclothes and Nightie – Way more absorbent and breathable than cotton.
Wool Duvet – Total game-changer. It’s breathable, hypoallergenic, moisture-wicking, and magically adjusts to your body temperature. Cozy in winter, cool in summer. Bliss.
I wear blue light blocking glasses in the evening while watching the telly. I use an acupressure mat on the bed every night while i am reading.
The Cortisol Trap: Why Suppressing It Can Backfire
One of the most important lessons I learned about cortisol and menopause insomnia is that aggressively lowering cortisol can actually make sleep worse.
Nerd Alert!!!
The body regulates cortisol through the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis), which works on feedback loops. If you artificially push cortisol too low with strong adaptogens or cortisol-blocking supplements, the brain can interpret that drop as stress.
In response, it increases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which signals the adrenal glands to produce more cortisol. The result can be a rebound effect - sudden 3 a.m. wakeups, palpitations, night sweats, or a surge of alertness.
In other words, the body overcompensates.
Supporting a healthy cortisol rhythm is very different from trying to suppress cortisol output. Once I stopped forcing it down and focused instead on hormonal balance and nervous system stability, my sleep improved dramatically.
The Missing Piece: Bioidentical Progesterone for Sleep
The biggest shift in my sleep came from properly supporting bioidentical progesterone.
Progesterone doesn’t sedate you. It restores calm. It enhances GABA activity naturally and balances estrogen’s stimulating effects.
Once I began using micronized progesterone drops (applied to the gums as advised by many Functional Doctors), several things changed quickly:
My night sweats reduced.
My 3 a.m. waking became less frequent.
My nervous system stopped feeling “on edge” at bedtime.
Instead of layering multiple calming supplements, I was addressing the underlying hormonal imbalance driving the insomnia.
For many women over 40, low progesterone is the hidden trigger behind restless sleep.
Why Taurine Became My Go-To for Menopause Sleep
Alongside progesterone, taurine became a quiet but powerful addition.
Taurine supports sleep in multiple ways. It modulates GABA receptors, calms excitatory glutamate, stabilizes overnight blood sugar, and supports bile flow - which helps with estrogen and histamine clearance.
If you’re dealing with histamine intolerance and menopause insomnia, this matters.
For me, taurine replaced what glycine, GABA, and part of my adaptogen stack were trying to do. It created a steady, grounded calm rather than sedation or suppression.
That distinction is important.
Why I Stopped GABA, 5-HTP, and Melatonin
Although widely recommended as natural sleep remedies for menopause, these didn’t suit my system.
GABA can paradoxically increase anxiety in some sensitive individuals.
5-HTP, while helpful for serotonin production, can sometimes increase histamine release or create that overstimulated “wired” feeling.
Melatonin, despite its reputation, can disrupt cortisol timing in certain women and may worsen night sweats or trigger headaches if histamine levels are already elevated.
These supplements aren’t inherently bad. But in midlife - when hormones and histamine are shifting - they can behave unpredictably.
Sometimes improving sleep isn’t about adding more.
It’s about removing what’s destabilizing your rhythm.
My Current Simple Routine for Menopause Insomnia Relief
After years of experimenting, my supplement routine is now surprisingly simple.
I take taurine and bioidentical progesterone drops at night. I drink lemon balm or honeybush tea in the evening.
I wear blue light blocking glasses in the evening if I watch the telly or go on my phone (which I try to avoid). I’ve replaced the light bulbs in my living room and bedroom with blue light-free bulbs, avoid overstimulation, and prioritize breathwork before bed.
My wool duvet and bamboo bedding and nightie help regulate body temperature naturally. I still use my acupressure mat and listen to delta waves with headphones (not bluetooth) on my mp3 while I am reading for 15 minutes or so.
I stick to consistent sleep and wake times every day, which is crucial for respecting your circadian rhythm and training your body to know when it’s time to sleep and wake naturally.
MASSIVE TIP: One way to reset your rhythm from scratch is to get up before sunrise and expose yourself to daylight in the morning, then watch the sun go down in the evening, signaling your body when to wind down. (You might need to do that a few times if you have struggled to sleep for a long time.)
That’s it.
No giant supplement stack.
No aggressive cortisol suppression.
No chasing sleep.
Just supporting hormone balance and nervous system regulation.
If you’re dealing with insomnia in perimenopause or restless nights during menopause, these are worth looking into:
My accupressure mat
You know that delicious feeling when you flop onto your bed after a long day? Now imagine doing that… but onto a bed of spikes. Sounds like torture? Weirdly, it’s amazing.
So how does it work? No, it’s not magic (though it kind of feels like it). All those tiny plastic spikes stimulate pressure points all over your body, sending signals to your brain to release feel-good goodies like endorphins and oxytocin. Basically, it's like your body’s saying, “Ahhh yes, thank you,” even as you're wincing a little at first.
It also gets your blood flowing like crazy, which helps with healing, pain relief, and flushing out toxins. I like to think of it as a mini internal car wash-but for your stress.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it also taps into energy channels (meridians), helping to unblock your chi.
Whether or not you believe in energy flow, I can confirm this mat after 15 minutes sends me into my parasympathetic zone-aka the magical rest and digest state. It’s like a nervous system lullaby.
By the end, I’m drooling and halfway to dreamland. Who needs Netflix when you’ve got endorphins and needles (fake ones, of course)?
Schisandra
Schisandra is a cooling, adaptogenic herb that helps reduce night sweats, calm the nervous system, and support liver detox—all while promoting restful sleep without sedation.
Here’s how it works:
Cooling & astringent: Helps stop excess sweating and regulate body heat
Adaptogen: Lowers nighttime cortisol and eases stress-related insomnia
Liver detox support: Clears excess estrogen and histamine—two hidden causes of night sweats
Best taken as a tincture 30–60 minutes before bed for fast absorption and calming effects. Powder form during the day. For some, it might be energising, so be aware of that.
Ashwagandha
An adaptogenic herb that mimics GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a calming neurotransmitter. It helps reduce stress and improve sleep quality.
Magnesium Complex – I use one that includes:
Magtein (L-Threonate) – for brain support and relaxation
Magnesium Glycinate – for calming the nervous system
Magnesium Chloride – for absorption and muscle recovery
Taken in the evening or in the morning if it disrupts your sleep.
Methylated Vitamin B Complex – Essential for brain health, hormone balance, energy, and sleep regulation. I take it every day.
Bioidentical Progesterone Drops (the missing piece of the puzzle)
Let’s be real - I didn’t expect a few drops of anything to feel like being upgraded from chaos mode to calm mode.
I tried micronized bioidentical progesterone drops the form Dr. Mercola praises (rubbed on the gums) to restore hormonal sanity. Within days, I started sleeping like an actual human again. My mood lifted, the night sweats vanished, and my brain finally stopped racing.
How Micronized Progesterone Works
Progesterone is your body’s natural chill pill - balancing estrogen, calming the nervous system, and supporting deep, restorative sleep.
When progesterone drops (hello, perimenopause!), estrogen goes rogue. That’s when you get:
Night sweats and hot flashes
Restless sleep and anxiety
PMS-style irritability and bloating
Bioidentical micronized progesterone restores calm by boosting GABA, your brain’s main relaxation neurotransmitter - helping you unwind, drift off, and stay asleep.
Why Dr. Mercola Loves the Gum-Absorption Method
Dr. Mercola prefers micronized progesterone drops applied to the gums, because:
It’s absorbed directly into your bloodstream (no liver detour)
You get smoother, more natural hormone levels
Vitamin E and MCT oil help with absorption and stability
Benefits I noticed:
Deeper, longer sleep - no more 3 a.m. wake-ups
Fewer hot flashes - calmer body thermostat
Less anxiety & irritability - natural chill, no sedation
Sharper focus & mood - brain feels clearer and calmer
Hormone harmony - estrogen finally meets its match
Bioidentical progesterone doesn’t sedate you - it helps your body remember how to relax.
The Bigger Picture: Sleep, Hormones, and Weight Gain After 40
If you’re struggling with menopause weight gain and insomnia, remember that poor sleep increases cortisol and insulin resistance. It also intensifies cravings and slows fat metabolism.
Fixing sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s foundational.
And sometimes the solution isn’t another supplement - it’s restoring hormonal balance so your body can remember how to relax.
Final Thoughts
Navigating menopause night sweats, 3 a.m. waking, and histamine-related insomnia (the histamine dump) taught me patience.
For a long time, I needed more support. That was okay.
But once progesterone was supported and cortisol rhythm stabilized, I didn’t need the massive stack anymore.
Now sleep feels natural again.
And that simplicity feels like real healing.
To better sleeping and balanced hormones,
Izzy x
Please note:
Always choose bioidentical (not synthetic) progesterone, and work with a practitioner (have to say that just because…) to find your sweet spot. Start low, listen to your body, and let calm return naturally.
Be aware, there’s a very small percentage of women who react to progesterone in the opposite way to the majority.
See websites below for more info.
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