Menopause Sleep Sabotage: How Sugar, Caffeine, Blue Light, and Nutrient Gaps Keep You Up!

Last month, I talked all about the challenges with sleep during perimenopause. If you are struggling with this and don’t understand what is happening in your body, check out that blog here.

Hormones play a role, but hormonal changes are not the only reason women

struggle with sleep in midlife. Many women find that midlife presents a number of challenges that impact sleep. Various life factors are impacting the nervous system…

Women may struggle with sleep due to many issues, including:

• Teens and small kids

• Aging parents (anyone?)

• Snoring partners

• Height of career

• Juggling responsibilities of home and work

• Night-shift work

Other physiological changes during menopause can also affect sleep. As a functional nutritionist and herbalist, I want to evaluate the why behind sleep disturbances. I want to rule out other diet and lifestyle factors that may be contributing to or exacerbating the impact hormonal changes have on sleep. Let’s dive in.

Factors that Impact Sleep in Menopause

Chronic joint pain can impact sleep.  

Check out our blog on joint pain in midlife here. And learn how to eat an anti-inflammatory diet to address this.

Imbalanced blood sugar can impact sleep.

It is important to keep blood sugar stable. Spikes and dips in blood sugar will disrupt sleep. You want to assess if a given meal is high glycemic or glycemically balanced. If you eat a meal or snack and your blood sugar spikes above 140 (in a healthy adult), then that meal is not glycemically balanced. How do you measure a meal? We are aiming for ~30 g protein, ~10 g fiber, and low or no added sugar.

Women may be unaware they are waking in the middle of the night due to blood sugar fluctuations. Minimize late-night alcohol, high-carb meals, and skipping meals. A snack before bed with some complex carbohydrates and protein can help balance this.

For instance:

• Hummus and high-fiber crackers

• Apple and peanut or other nut butter

• Hard-boiled egg and pickles

Wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for 2 weeks can be a useful tool to suss out low blood sugar at night.

Inadequate intake of nutrients can impact sleep.

Magnesium – Magnesium plays a role in many enzymatic reactions in the body. Most importantly for sleep, magnesium acts “as both an NMDA receptor antagonist and a GABA receptor agonist.” Magnesium calms neural excitability and can assist with calming the brain for sleep (He, Wang, Chen, Xu, Yang, & Yuan, 2025).

Vitamin D – A deficiency of vitamin D is associated with sleep apnea and insomnia. Most individuals in the U.S. are not getting enough vitamin D. This is one of the most common deficiencies, in part because we spend so much time indoors. The body synthesizes vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. Some foods are fortified with vitamin D, including certain dairy products, eggs, and plant-based milks.

Calcium – This nutrient is essential for producing melatonin, our sleep messenger. Low serum calcium is associated with disrupted sleep. Many of my clients take large doses of magnesium but no calcium. This can have a doubly negative effect if dietary calcium intake is insufficient.

Omega-3 fatty acids – A diet deficient in omega-3 fatty acids can impact melatonin levels and circadian rhythm. Omega-3s also reduce inflammation and support brain function. Studies have demonstrated that increased fatty fish consumption is associated with improved perceived sleep quality (Zhao, Tuo, Wang, & Zhao, 2020).

Disrupted circadian rhythm - Light exposure is one of the biggest regulators of sleep. Our bodies align with daylight exposure. Blue light from TVs, computer screens, phones, Kindles, and other devices can disrupt these signals.

One of the simplest ways to support physiology in midlife is to get outside in the morning for 15 minutes. This is a great time to move your body or meditate/pray.

Trigger foods – alcohol, coffee, and MSG – can impact sleep

Coffee is the most commonly consumed stimulant in the U.S.; approximately 150 billion cups are consumed annually. Coffee contains caffeine, which affects adenosine signaling and suppresses the drive to sleep. Individuals metabolize caffeine at different rates. Fast metabolizers may tolerate caffeine later in the day, whereas slow metabolizers should avoid caffeine after approximately 12 pm.

Alcohol is the most commonly used sedative in the U.S. While it may initially promote sleep onset, overall sleep quality is reduced. After 2–3 hours, sleep becomes fragmented, and REM sleep—accounting for approximately 20–25% of total sleep—is disrupted (Colrain, Nicholas, & Baker, 2014).

MSG and free glutamate, found in artificial flavorings, additives, and processed foods, can activate the nervous system. One reported side effect is poor or disturbed sleep.

In a study examining a low-glutamate diet in Gulf War veterans, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) improved after 1 month on the diet. Additional measures of cognitive function also improved. These individuals often exhibit increased extracellular free glutamate, which may trigger neuronal excitability (Maury & Holton, 2024).

Here is a description of a low glutamate diet: “The low glutamate diet is a whole food diet that restricts consumption of free glutamate and aspartate. These are mainly found as flavor-enhancing food additives (e.g., MSG, hydrolyzed protein, aspartame, etc.) but are also naturally occurring in some foods (e.g., soy sauce, fish sauces, aged cheeses, etc.). The diet excludes the consumption of excitotoxins and optimizes the consumption of antioxidants and nutrients, which are protective against excitotoxicity” (Langan et al., 2022).

Light exposure impacts sleep - For every patient I see, I assess light exposure and circadian rhythm. This includes time spent outdoors, screen exposure, timing and rhythm of meals, and sleep/wake patterns.

Read Blog #1 to learn more about how to shift your sleep environment and cope with a disrupted circadian rhythm.

In summary, the best diet to help with insomnia is one that is:

• Balanced glycemically

• Nutrient-dense

• Rich in fiber and protein

• Inclusive of key nutrients such as vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins

• Supported by regular time outdoors

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https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasnownutrition/ 

Want a little help putting this into action? Join our Instagram community and start feeling better today. Curious about the next steps? Check out our top tips, guides, and resources for a smoother, healthier menopause journey.

This post is just the start! Explore more tools that make wellness simple, practical, and fun.

References

Colrain, I. M., Nicholas, C. L., & Baker, F. C. (2014). Alcohol and the sleeping brain. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 125, 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-62619-6.00024-0

He, C., Wang, B., Chen, X., Xu, J., Yang, Y., & Yuan, M. (2025). The mechanisms of magnesium in sleep disorders. Nature and Science of Sleep, 17, 2639–2656. https://doi.org/10.2147/NSS.S552646

Langan, M. T., Kirkland, A. E., Rice, L. C., Mucciarone, V. C., Baraniuk, J., VanMeter, A., & Holton, K. F. (2022). Low glutamate diet improves working memory and contributes to altering BOLD response and functional connectivity within working memory networks in Gulf War Illness. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 18004. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21837-6

Maury, A., & Holton, K. (2024, July). The low glutamate diet improves sleep and cognition in veterans with Gulf War illness. Current Developments in Nutrition, 8(Supplement 2), 103202.

Zhao, M., Tuo, H., Wang, S., & Zhao, L. (2020). The Effects of Dietary Nutrition on Sleep and Sleep Disorders. Mediators of Inflammation, 2020, 3142874. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3142874