Menopause Sleep Problems: How the Right Bedding Can Help
Sleep is essential for overall health and wellbeing, but for many women, menopause can make restful sleep difficult to achieve. Hormonal changes during perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause often lead to sleep disturbances, including insomnia, night sweats, hot flushes and frequent waking throughout the night.
Research suggests that between 40%-60% of women experience menopause-related sleep problems. Poor sleep can affect energy levels, mood concentration and overall quality of life. Creating a sleep-friendly environment can help reduce discomfort and improve sleep quality. Choosing breathable, temperature regulating bedding made from natural fibres such as wool and cotton may help manage night sweats, reduce overheating and support a more comfortable night's sleep.
We explore why menopause affects sleep and how selecting the best bedding for menopause can help you stay cooler, drier and more comfortable for restful sleep.
Why Menopause Affects Sleep
It's suggested that menopause sleep problems are due to lower or declining oestrogen and progesterone levels during these later stages of women's lives.
Oestrogen helps maintain a stable sleep-wake cycle and supports the body's ability to regulate its temperature in preparation for sleep. Reduced oestrogen levels during menopause can disrupt the body's temperature regulation system, causing it to respond as though it is overheating. The body is forced to try and cool itself down by dilating blood vessels to release heat and prompting the sweat glands to perspire. Although hot flushes can occur during the day, they are often more disruptive at night and are a major contributor to menopausal sleep problems. Studies indicate that three out of four women experiencing menopause suffer from night sweats, making it a major contributor to sleepless nights.
How Bedding Can Help
Thoughtful changes to your bedding products can make a significant difference and taking the time to find the right products will help achieve a more comfortable sleep during menopause.
Fibre
Choose natural fibres like wool or cotton. The natural properties improve breathability and are excellent temperature balancing fibres. Wool naturally wicks moisture away from the body, helping keep the skin cool and dry throughout the night. Cotton has natural cooling properties and when combined with wool, they create a balanced sleep environment by regulating temperature and reducing overheating.
Weight
Choosing a lightweight quilt with a fill weight between 150gsm and 225gsm can help reduce overheating. Search for quilts that are specifically designed for warmer climates and people who tend to sleep hot.
Natural vs Synthetic Bedding for Night Sweats
Your bedding choices can make a noticeable difference to the quality of sleep you achieve, and this is especially important during major life changes like menopause. Finding cool bedding for menopause can be a challenge, but choosing bedding made from natural fibres is an excellent first step.
Natural fibres like wool and cotton are great at working with your body, not against it. They are both hygroscopic, which means they can absorb and attract large quantities of moisture. Wool has one of the highest moisture regain levels within common textile fibres and can absorb up to 35% of it's weight in moisture. This results in improved thermal comfort during sleep by providing breathability and avoiding the heat retention commonly associated with synthetic fibres. Natural fibres actively help manage temperature and maintain a balanced sleeping environment throughout the night, making them a suitable bedding choice for women experiencing menopause sleep issues.
A study conducted by the University of Sydney found that wool sleepwear outperformed polyester and cotton sleepwear for overall sleep quality. It's worth noting that participates that were poor sleepers had less wakefulness and reduced rapid eye movement sleep latency when wearing wool sleepwear. Although the study showed significant benefits for all wool sleepwear participates, with results significant for the older and poorer sleepers. This study was tested on sleepwear and not bedding directly but it still demonstrates the fibre science of wool.
| Natural | Synthetic | |
| Breathable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Temperature Regulation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Moisture Wicking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comfort during hormonal changes | ✓ | ✗ |
Best Bedding for Menopausal Women
When searching for the best bedding for menopausal women who are experiencing sleep discomfort, it's best to start with natural fibres. And of course, we recommend wool quilts. Wool is one of the best natural fibres for menopause bedding because its unique properties help regulate temperature, manage moisture and improve breathability throughout the night. It's also important to pair your quilt with natural fibre bedlinen, such as cotton sheets. Cotton is a great option as it's also breathable and has natural cooling properties, helping keep the body cool, dry and comfortable.
MiniJumbuk's Bedding Choice for Menopause
MiniJumbuk's summer weight quilt range is extremely light and luxurious. Combining cotton's natural cooling properties with wool's moisture wicking ability provides a more regulated temperature, making it ideal for sleepers who tend to overheat.
Super Cool Wool Cotton Quilt
150gsm Wool Cotton Fill
Ultralight and breathable. Perfect for warm nights and hot sleepers.
Cool Wool Cotton Quilt
225gsm Wool Cotton Quilt Fill
No more overheating. Sleep cooler and wake more refreshed.
Don't forget about under you body. Some mattresses, particularly traditional memory foam models, can retain and transfer heat, contributing to overheating during sleep. Consider pairing your wool quilt with a wool protector or wool mattress topper, improving airflow around the body and creating a cooling effect.
Sleep Cool Wool Cotton Protector
The natural breathability of wool combined with the cooling properties of cotton to reduce nighttime overheating for higher quality sleep.
Sleep Restful Mattress Topper
A unique combination of wool fleece and cotton fill provides a total comfort to help achieve a deeper, more restful sleep.
Lastly but importantly choose a breathable pillow. While you sleep your body releases heat through the skin and face, many pillows can trap the releasing heat causing your face to overheat, causing wake ups. A wool pillow can help improve airflow around your head and neck, reducing heat build-up and improving overall sleep comfort.
Breathe Wool Pillow
A beautiful combination of a quilted wool cotton casing and wool blend fill for a breathable pillow.
MerinoCool Memory Foam Pillow
Designed to provide the head and neck support benefits of memory foam, combined with cool technology and natural properties of merino wool. A unique and reversible design, offering the functionality of calming and cooling experience in one pillow. The cooling side has CoolTech™ cooling gel that uses thermal conductivity to remove heat from your head and neck. While on the reverse, the calming side offers MiniJumbuk's new merino wool blend fabric, designed to offer temperature regulation and a calm, restful experience. The merino wool fibre exists on the surface of the fabric, ensuring it offers the benefits of wool.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can menopause cause sleep problems?
Yes. Menopause impacts women differently, but many find the hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause can impact their quality of sleep. Common menopause sleep issues include insomnia, night sweats and hot flushes.
How to sleep during menopause?
It's important to create a healthy sleeping environment and select the right bedding for your needs. It's best to have a cool, dark bedroom, think of using a fan or open the window to allow breeze to flow through the room. When it comes to bedding, choose natural, breathable fibres that has cooling properties, while also helps to regulate body temperature. Consider wool quits and cotton bedlinen.
Resource - Australian Menopause Centre
What causes night sweats during menopause?
Hormonal changes during this period causes women's body to produce less oestrogen and progesterone. Essentially causing the body to mistakenly believe its overheating and begin the cooling process. Often resulting in wakes ups from night sweats.
Resource - Australian Menopause Centre