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You were exhausted all day, then wide awake in bed.
The second your head hit the pillow, your mind clicked on like someone flipped a switch.
Your body felt tired. Your brain felt like it had just had three cups of coffee.
You watched two hours pass on the ceiling, running through tomorrow's to do list on a loop.
This never used to happen. You used to be asleep before your head fully landed.
Nothing is wrong with your body clock this time… So here's what's actually keeping the lights on.
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Progesterone calms your brain partly by boosting GABA, the chemical that lets your nervous system power down at night.
Picture a phone that won't shut off even at 1 percent battery, the screen staying lit, apps still refreshing no matter how many times you press the button. As progesterone falls, that GABA calming signal weakens, and cortisol, your alert hormone, can spike right at bedtime instead of staying low… Your body is exhausted, but the background processes won't power down.
Battery low, screen stays lit. That's the two hours you spent staring at the ceiling.
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Read this part twice
You're not wired because you're anxious or doing bedtime wrong. A specific calming chemical is weaker right when you need it most, and a stress hormone is showing up at the wrong hour. Tired and wired can both be true at once, and neither one is your fault.
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No one tells you insomnia can mean trouble falling asleep specifically, not just waking up at night. You just get told to try harder to relax…
But research puts insomnia symptoms at around 1 in 5 women in this transition, with sleep trouble overall affecting closer to half. There's a real mechanism, not a discipline problem.
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A few things that may help, starting tonight |
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| Do a real wind down, not just lights off. A fixed 30 minute routine, same order every night, signals your nervous system to power down instead of asking it to switch off instantly. |
| Get your to do list out of your head. Write tomorrow's list on paper before bed. Getting it out of your head quiets the loop that keeps replaying it. |
| Ask about magnesium or a GABA supporting option. Ask your doctor which options are actually evidence based for this specific pattern, rather than guessing from a shelf. |
| Ask if HRT or a low dose option fits. Restoring some progesterone specifically can ease this pattern for some women. Ask if it's worth discussing. |
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Your feed is selling blue light blocking glasses, worn for hours before bed, promised to fix the wired feeling…
Here's the grain of truth. Reducing light exposure before bed genuinely supports your body's natural wind down signal.
So the glasses may help at the margins. They don't touch the cortisol spike or the weaker GABA signal actually driving the wired feeling.
Glasses dim the light. They can't dim the cortisol.
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The words to bring to your appointment
“I'm exhausted all day but feel wired the moment I try to sleep, and it takes hours to fall asleep. Could this be hormone related, and what are my real options?”
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Of course, caffeine timing and screen habits matter too, so check those first. Then treat the hormone piece directly…
Write tomorrow's list tonight. Just try.
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Does your mind race the moment you try to sleep?
Just a quick poll. Your answer helps me choose what to cover next.
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We'll figure out the rest together.
— Diane
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P.S. Keep a notepad by the bed for the racing thoughts, not your phone. Writing one line down often quiets a thought faster than trying to will it away.
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