Women often have problems sleeping when they are going through menopause. You might wake in the middle of the night because you have night sweats, and then you might have trouble getting back to sleep. You may have a problem falling asleep. Or you may find that you wake up early in the morning. Of course, this can make you tired during the day.

Having problems sleeping when you are going through menopause may be linked to the drop in levels of the hormone estrogen. However, researchers still do not know exactly how this affects sleep patterns. It may be that estrogen affects areas of the brain that regulate sleep.¹

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