Care readers,
If there’s anything that noticeably changes during menopause, it’s sleep. You fall asleep more easily, but wake up in the middle of the night. Or you get up already tired, as if your body hasn’t really recovered. And it is often thought that it is a “just hormonal” problem. That’s partly true, but it’s not the whole story. Because there is one element that can make a big difference – and is often underestimated: the movement.
Because sleep changes
With the arrival of menopause, many women begin to notice a very specific change: sleep is no longer what it used to be. During this phase, the system that regulates sleep becomes more sensitive and less stable.
The drop in estrogen affects several mechanisms, including the production of melatonin – the hormone that regulates the sleep-wake rhythm – but also the body’s ability to truly relax.
Movement and sleep: a direct link
Physical activity doesn’t just help you get tired: it helps, first of all, to regular. And it’s an important distinction, especially during menopause.
When we move consistently, the body receives clear signals: when it’s time to get active and when it’s time to slow down. It is work that directly involves the nervous system. During the day, movement stimulates the activation system – the one that keeps us alert and reactive – but it is precisely thanks to this activation that, later on, the body is also able to “switch off” better.
In other words, to truly relax the body first needs to be adequately activated. When this does not happen – for example on very sedentary or mentally intense but physically passive days – the system remains in a sort of intermediate zone: tired, but not regulated. And that’s where sleep becomes more fragile.
Training regularly instead helps to stabilize this balance: the nervous system becomes less reactive to stimuli and more capable of moving from one state to another. On a physiological level something concrete happens: it increases sleep pressurecortisol is reduced in the evening hours and the synchronization of the circadian rhythm improves.
It’s not just a feeling: a 2023 meta-analysis indexed on PubMed highlighted that thePhysical activity can improve sleep quality in menopausal women.
Not all workouts help you sleep the same way
It is important to make a distinction: not all movement promotes sleep in the same way. Very intense workouts, especially in the evening, can increase activation, make it harder to fall asleep and interfere with recovery.
On the contrary, moderate intensity activities, well-dosed strength work and mobility and breathing exercises work best. Once again, it’s not a question of doing more, but of doing it in the right way for the time of day.
When to train to sleep better
Timing matters too. The morning and early afternoon are the ideal moments for more dynamic or intense workouts, while in the evening it is better to prefer more relaxing activities, both for the body and the mind, such as stretching, mobility and breathing exercises.
Who is Maria Luisa Valente
Maria Luisa Valente And certified personal trainer, Functional Trainer and Fitness Nutritionist, with a solid one specialization in Pilates (Matwork, Reformer and Cadillac). She is the founder of Allyoucanfit and Allyoucanfit Studiotwo studios in Milan created to offer people – and in particular women – a conscious, effective and sustainable approach to movement. In its driving spaces personalized routes that integrate functional training, pilates, strength and postural workwith constant attention to metabolic and hormonal health. With her new column on iODonna she dedicates herself tomenopause training, to help women move through this phase of life with energy, strength and confidence in their bodies.