In this study, the authors looked at a simple intervention that tackles the perennial issue of poor-quality sleep experienced by women in the perimenopausal years. Not a day passes that I don’t talk to a woman in her 40s or 50s who can’t sleep. And I have experienced some frustratingly sleepless nights myself in recent years.
I was interested to read this study because the intervention the researchers were testing could not be easier to implement — you can try it tonight without a trip to your doctor or worrying over side effects. It is called progressive muscle relaxation, and it involves intentionally tensing and then relaxing individual muscle groups beginning with the feet and working up to the head (although when I have tried it, I fall asleep round about the bum).
In the study, investigators randomized 63 women to perform progressive muscle relaxation exercises for 25 to 30 minutes each day for eight weeks or to continue with their current practices. Both groups were surveyed about their sleep at the beginning and end of the eight-week study. The investigators found that the women who performed the progressive muscle relaxation exercises experienced a significant improvement in sleep quality and reduction in fatigue.
Other studies have validated that progressive muscle relaxation is effective in improving sleep in a number of different populations. This is not a new idea, but what is new is using the technique specifically for perimenopausal sleep disruption. If you are struggling with sleep, you might give it a try. It costs nothing but a few minutes, doesn’t require a trip to the doctor for a prescription, and has no side effects. There are not many effective treatments that can make those claims. Here is an instructional video if you would like to try it.
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