One-third of our lives is spent in bed, underscoring sleep's vital importance to health. For women—especially those navigating menopause—it becomes even more critical. Many menopausal women report chronic insomnia and poor sleep quality.So what should be avoided before bed during menopause?
1. Avoid eating right before bedtime
When the body enters sleep, certain bodily functions slow down to rest. Eating before bed forces organs like the stomach, intestines, liver, and spleen to work again, increasing their burden and preventing other organs from resting adequately.The brain region responsible for digestion (processing food) also becomes stimulated, often leading to nightmares after falling asleep.
If dinner was eaten too early and hunger arises before bedtime, a small snack or fruit (such as a banana or apple) may be consumed. However, wait at least half an hour after eating before going to sleep.
Second: Avoid Mental Activity Before Bed
If you have the habit of working or studying at night, tackle more mentally demanding tasks first and save lighter ones for later. This allows your brain to relax, making it easier to fall asleep. Otherwise, if your mind remains in an excited state, you may struggle to sleep even after lying down. Over time, this can lead to insomnia.
Third: Avoid emotional agitation before sleep
Strong emotions like joy, anger, sorrow, or excitement can easily stimulate or disrupt the nervous system, making it difficult to fall asleep or even causing insomnia. Therefore, try to avoid intense emotions such as great joy, anger, worry, or frustration before bedtime. It is best to maintain emotional stability.If you struggle to sleep due to mental tension or emotional excitement, lie on your back with hands placed below your navel. Rest your tongue against the roof of your mouth, relax your entire body, and as saliva forms in your mouth, swallow it continuously. Within minutes, you should drift off to sleep.
Four: Avoid Sleeping with Your Head Covered
Elderly individuals, especially during winter, often prefer sleeping with their heads covered due to sensitivity to cold. However, this practice causes the body to inhale large amounts of exhaled carbon dioxide while lacking sufficient oxygen, which is extremely detrimental to health.
Fifth: Avoid Sleeping in Direct Drafts
Never allow wind entering through doors or windows to blow directly on your head or body while sleeping. During deep sleep, the body's ability to adapt to external conditions diminishes. Prolonged exposure to drafts allows cold air to penetrate through the skin's capillaries, potentially causing colds in mild cases or facial paralysis in severe ones.
Six: Avoid Sleeping Directly Under a Light
Even with eyes closed, the body remains sensitive to light. Sleeping under a light disrupts the body's natural equilibrium, causing irregularities in body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure. This leads to restlessness, difficulty falling asleep, and frequent waking even after sleep is achieved.
Seventh: Avoid talking before bed
As the saying goes: "No talking while eating, no chatting before sleep." Speaking stimulates mental activity and excitement, disrupting sleep. Therefore, the elderly should minimize conversation before bedtime.
Eight: Avoid Sleeping on Your Back
The optimal sleeping position is lying on your right side. This allows the entire skeleton and muscles to relax naturally, facilitating sleep and alleviating fatigue. Sleeping on your back keeps the skeleton and muscles tense, hindering fatigue recovery. It also increases the risk of nightmares caused by arms pressing against the chest, which can obstruct breathing and degrade sleep quality.
Ninth: Avoid sleeping with your mouth open. Sun Simiao stated: "Maintain closed lips during nighttime rest—this is the finest method for preserving vital energy." Sleeping with an open mouth invites exposure to airborne viruses and bacteria, not only allowing illness to enter through the mouth but also subjecting the lungs and stomach to irritation from cold air and dust, thereby triggering disease.
Ten: Avoid Sleeping Directly Over a Stove
This causes excessive body heat, increasing susceptibility to skin infections like boils. Rising at night to use the restroom also heightens the risk of catching a chill or developing a cold. Notably, when using a honeycomb coal stove for warmth, ensure adequate ventilation to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.