Hi Jamie Dee,

I suffered from insomnia just as I was starting perimenopause. Ironically what helped me, along with melatonin, was something my doctor suggested to help with my sore breasts. The suggestion was to completely eliminate caffeine. So I switched to decaf coffee(swiss water method) - gave up chocolate - continued with the herbal teas. I also increased my efforts to relax - to journal more - to release some old habits. But for the most part, I feel the absence of caffeine really helped. I was 6 years in peri.

Lack of sleep really does affect so many areas of life. Is there a certain time you wake up, or is it different?

I'm not sure if this helps or not, but would like to say be gentle with yourself.

Take care, Deb

Hi ladies. I do believe that I'm in peri-menopause. Night sweats, hair loss, sore breasts... Man, if I didn't know better, I'd swear I was pregnant! LOL

Anyway, something I've found to be really helpful when insomnia hits me is a cup of catnip tea. Yep, catnip. Good, old-fashioned, organic catnip, crushed up and put in a teaball, steeped until it's dark, and sweetened with some unpasteurized honey... The stuff works absolute wonders for so many things: insomnia, fibromyalgia pain, migraine headaches, sore breasts... I can't promise that it would work for everyone, but for me, it's been a real godsend (and my cats love it, too :D).

I'd like to echo Deb's sentiments about being gentle with yourself, too. I've been finding that everything feels worse when I'm seriously stressed, but when I take even a few minutes to just focus on me, things settle down to a dull roar. I hope this helps, Jamie Dee...