Perimenopause & Menopause-Related Sleep Disruption Support – Oregon
Better Sleep Through Life’s Changes
Sleep can change during perimenopause and menopause. You may find yourself waking more often, struggling to fall asleep, or having trouble falling back asleep after waking.
CBT-I can help address sleep difficulties that occur during this stage of life, with an approach that considers your sleep patterns, routines, and the factors affecting your nights.
Sleep Can Take Up Less Mental Space
Improving sleep isn’t only about what happens between bedtime and morning.
For many people, one of the most meaningful changes they experience after improving sleep is that they simply think about sleep less. You may still have an occasional restless night, but instead of spending the next day worrying about it—or spending the evening worrying about whether it will happen again—you can feel more confident that you know what to do.
Sleep can become something your body does rather than something you have to constantly manage.
A Closer Look at
What's Affecting Your Sleep
Your sleep patterns can give useful clues about what's getting in the way of better nights. CBT-I looks at those patterns alongside the factors that may be contributing to ongoing sleep difficulties.
That might mean exploring:
Nighttime Awakenings
Occasional waking during the night is normal. The difficulty comes when you have trouble falling back asleep. CBT-I can help change what happens during those periods of wakefulness.
Changes in Your
Sleep Pattern
Sleep can look different during perimenopause and menopause than it did earlier in life. Looking at your actual sleep patterns can help identify where targeted changes may be useful.
What Happens After
You Wake Up
A nighttime awakening can quickly turn into worrying about how much sleep you have left, how you'll feel tomorrow, or whether you'll be able to fall back asleep. Addressing those thought patterns can help reduce some of the pressure surrounding sleep.
Your Sleep Routine
Changes in your routine, schedule, or evening habits may affect how easily you settle into sleep. Together, you can look at what your evenings actually look like and identify changes that support your sleep without creating another list of rules to follow.
Expectations Around Sleep
It can be frustrating when the restful sleep you once had no longer feels attainable. CBT-I can help you understand what your body needs now and move away from rigid expectations about exactly how much sleep you should be getting.
Hot Flashes & Night Sweats
While CBT-I doesn’t stop hot flashes, it can change how you respond when they wake you. Together, you can look at how to settle back to sleep after a night sweat, and how to keep a brief wake-up from turning into a long stretch of frustration.
Hormone Therapy Isn’t
the Only Piece
Hormone therapy can be helpful for some people during perimenopause and menopause, but it isn’t the right choice for everyone or a complete solution for every sleep concern. Whether you use hormone therapy, have experienced side effects, or prefer not to use it, sleep therapy can provide another way to address the patterns and challenges affecting your sleep.
Carrie can help you work on evidence-based strategies that fit your needs, whether or not hormone therapy is part of your care.
Working Through Sleep Changes
Understanding what's happening with your sleep is the starting point. From there, the work becomes a process of noticing patterns, trying targeted strategies, and seeing how your sleep responds.
-
Start With Your Sleep
Your first full session gives Carrie an opportunity to learn more about your sleep, routines, experiences, and goals. You'll then begin tracking your sleep to create a clearer picture of what's happening from night to night.
-
Make Focused Changes
Your sleep patterns help guide what comes next. You may work on your sleep schedule, what happens when you're awake at night, thoughts and expectations around sleep, or other factors that are getting in the way.
-
Review and Adjust
Follow-up sessions give you a chance to look at what's changing, talk through what's difficult, and adjust your approach. Most people work with Carrie for about 4–8 sessions following the initial intake.
-
Build Confidence Around Sleep
As you learn more about your sleep and practice new strategies, the goal is to feel more confident handling difficult nights without letting them take over your thoughts or your day.
Focused Care for Perimenopause & Menopause-Related Sleep Concerns
Carrie Bader is an occupational therapist with a Master’s in Occupational Therapy and a Master’s in Public Health. She completed specialized CBT-I training through Stanford’s Sleep Health & Insomnia Program and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.
Her work combines sleep training with a collaborative approach to care, helping you identify changes that fit your goals.
- Master’s in OT Occupational Therapy
- Master’s in Public Health Health Education
- Stanford CBT-I Training Sleep Health & Insomnia Program
- CHES Certified Health Education Specialist
Make Room for
Better Nights
Sleep changes may be part of this stage of life, but constantly worrying about sleep doesn’t have to be. Carrie can help you understand what’s happening with your sleep and find strategies that support better nights and more confidence around sleep.