If there’s one thing I hear from women in their 40s, 50s and 60s almost every day, it’s this: “Sleep was fine before and now I’m up three times every night.”

Maybe you just wake up at 3:15 a.m and can't go back to sleep or you fall asleep fine but wake drenched in sweat, brain racing and can’t get back to sleep. Either way, it’s not just annoying, it’s exhausting. It's hormonal. And it affects everything—energy, focus, mood, patience, cravings, weight and motivation.

Here’s what I want you to know: You’re not losing your mind. You’re not just “getting older” and your body isn’t broken. There’s a very real reason this happens and once you understand why, you can fix it.

Sleep is one of the first things to shift when hormones start fluctuating. Estrogen, progesterone and cortisol all play a major role in how easily you fall asleep, how deeply you sleep and whether you wake up refreshed. When estrogen starts to decline in perimenopause and menopause, it throws off your body’s temperature regulation. That’s why those middle-of-the-night hot flashes hit like a heat wave.

But estrogen also influences serotonin and melatonin, the very hormones that help you relax and stay asleep. Fun fact, 90 percent of your seratonin is produced in your gut. And because seratonin is needed to produce melatonin, it's super important to address gut health when addressing midlife hormones.

At the same time, progesterone, the........

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