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Secrets to Better Sleep: Hormones, Food, Light and Movement

Author
Mary Rothwell
Published
Mon 04 Aug 2025
Episode Link
None

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Sleep struggles aren't a life sentence, especially during hormonal transitions like perimenopause and menopause. Understanding the connection between hormones, diet, movement, and light exposure provides a framework for improving sleep quality naturally without relying solely on supplements or medications.

• Our "hormonal orchestra" includes sleep hormones, stress hormones, and hunger hormones that all work together
• Deep sleep in the first part of the night is crucial for brain health and cleansing
• Waking up during the night is natural and not necessarily problematic if you can return to sleep
• Sugar and alcohol consumption directly impact sleep quality and hormonal balance
• Caffeine has a five-hour half-life, meaning noon coffee affects you at 10pm
• Light exposure helps regulate your circadian rhythm—morning sunlight and evening darkness signal your brain when to sleep
• Movement throughout the day helps regulate cortisol and improve sleep quality
• Creating a wind-down routine with dim lights and relaxing activities prepares your body for rest
• Perimenopause disrupts progesterone first, which affects anxiety levels and sleep quality

Sign up for my FREE sleep workshop for women in midlife HERE.

Check out my virtual sleep program, RESTored, for women in perimenopause through post-menopause. It is over 4 hours of content and 16 resources that you get LIFETIME ACCESS to. It could literally change your life like it changed mine.


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