Dreams are like stars, you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny. -- unknown

Menopause is simply a natural part of a woman's life cycle. However, menopause comes with a number of different symptoms. More than fifty percent of women experience some type of sleep disturbance, including night sweats, during menopause.

While hot flashes occur during the day for most women, for lots of others, those hot flashes happen at night. This can mean that a woman awakens feeling a flushing sensation. She is usually soaked with sweat. Because of these things, she may feel that she needs to shower, change her clothes, and maybe even change the sheets of the bed because they, too, are soaked. As most women tend to be light sleepers after their children are born, waking up drenched in sweat can mean not going back to sleep for many.

Night sweats, though, are not the only factor in sleep problems during women. As women begin to hit middle age, somewhere between forty and sixty years old, studies indicate that many have trouble staying asleep through the night. Many of those same studies show that hormone levels have a part in being able to stay asleep. For example, the hormone melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, changes its level in a woman's body as she ages. Melatonin changes the sleep patterns our bodies experience. In fact, many researches have managed to prove melatonin as a remedy for jet lag, insomnia, and sleep problems experienced by shift workers. Women taking melatonin in conjunction with menopause report fewer sleep problems.

Prescribing melatonin, though, may not be the right way to treat menopause related sleep disturbances. It can have some serious side effects on some people, especially if it is ingested in large amounts. People who take steroid type drugs should not take melatonin. Anyone who has allergies or auto-immune disorders should not take melatonin. Women, who might want to conceive in the future, which is not usually an issue for menopausal women, should stay away from melatonin as well. Melatonin has even been known to cause depression in some people. Because the body does produce its own melatonin, adding too much to your body can cause its supply to turn off. Despite the risks, though, it can help some people. You should consult your doctor or healer before using it, though. Remember that less is better in this case. Taking just three milligrams per day is more than one hundred times the amount of melatonin the body naturally produces, so you have to be careful. Remember, also, that your natural production of melatonin changes with the daylight and the darkness. So if your bedroom is close to floodlights, you natural production may be affected.

There are other treatment options for sleep disorders during menopause. Studies have shown that sage, bioflavinoids, Vitamin B5, and Vitamin E work quite well at reducing the problem. As with any treatment, though, it is essential to consult your doctor or healer before you use it, because certain aspects of your body may make that treatment ineffective for you.

About the Author

Jennifer is a health researcher and likes to write about women's health concerns.

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This information is intended to heighten awareness of potential health care alternatives and should not be considered as medical advice. See your qualified health-care professional for medical attention, advice, diagnosis, and treatments. See our full disclaimer.