mental and biochemical, that for many of us the adrenal glands have, over time, become fatigued through overuse, unable to perform their many tasks as well as they used to. In order to see the link between the sleep disturbances of menopause and the adrenal glands, it’s helpful to understand more about their function. For starters, the adrenals are lifelong sources of sex hor- mones such as estrone (a form of estrogen), progesterone and testosterone – which together act as a stabilizing influence as the ovaries begin to cease production of sex hormones (this is the timeframe known as perimenopause). Adrenal sources can- not fully take over the functions of ovar- ian hormones, but when the adrenals are healthy and producing optimal levels of their own sex hormones, this can make for a much gentler perimenopause and a happier postmenopausal life, hormonally speaking. When the adrenals are depleted and supply lower levels of sex hormones, this can result in a more difficult and prolonged meno- pausal transition. Sleep quality is one area which may be negatively affected because of the relationship between sex hormones, stress hormones and neurotransmitters; it is in large part the balanced interactions of these hormones and biochemical messen- gers which create healthy sleep patterns.
Sleep, Stress and your Overworked Brain
So, if there is a direct connection be- tween adrenal dysfunction and menopausal sleep issues, what is the most common cause of adrenal dysfunction? You’ve probably guessed it: STRESS! The bane of modern life, the go-to culprit in so many health issues, our favorite and largely justified excuse for seemingly everything from road rage to low libido to rudeness on the checkout line – yep, chronic stress (past or present), and the adrenal fatigue which results, is an underly- ing factor in many a case of menopausal sleep disturbance. Actually, it is not so much stress itself
that is the problem, but rather a prolonged or excessive adrenal response to stress, which eventually leads to abnormal brain center re- actions to stress hormones. In particular, it is the brain’s abnormal response to the chronic adrenal stress hormone cortisol which disrupts the normal cycle of waking and sleeping. It’s as though these brain centers which monitor and regulate hormone levels in the body gradually become hard of hear- ing, fail to understand that you don’t need a stress response at 2 a.m., and continue to send messages to your adrenals telling
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