#125 - Why Time Changes Hit Us So Hard in Perimenopause & Science-Backed Sleep Strategies That Help

If you're like the ladies of Breaking Through Wellness - wow, do we love our high-quality sleep so we can keep feeling, looking, and running our best!

Most serious wellness and fitness-minded women already know the importance of high quality sleep and we do our best to protect it. But - then the time changes.

Are you too shocked at the impacts it can have on your training and energy? One night's poor sleep can catch up with us in our training not the next day, but even days later! And in Louise's sleep specific research, she saw that cognitive decline was significant with just ONE night's poor sleep.

Let's take action and do something about it so we can keep leveling up through perimenopause and beyond!

Often, the reason our workouts and nutrition suddenly stop working the way they used to has nothing to do with discipline - and everything to do with sleep and our changing hormones!

In this episode, leading exercise physiologist and women’s integrative health practitioner Louise Valentine explains how sleep disruptions during perimenopause can derail fitness results, energy, and recovery. Even small changes can affect hormones like estrogen and progesterone, leading to fatigue, poor performance, cravings, or stubborn weight fluctuations.

Louise shares why sleep is the foundation for hormone balance, fat loss, and performance, especially for active women and runners navigating hormonal shifts. She also highlights how factors like dehydration, blood sugar, stress, and sleep environment can amplify these challenges.

Listeners will learn practical strategies to protect sleep, hormones, and recovery. From maintaining consistent sleep routines and improving sleep hygiene to hydration and fueling strategies, Louise emphasizes simple science-backed lifestyle habits that can help women stay energized, strong, and resilient.

RESOURCES

Learn with my free nutrition guide & award-winning 1:1 Academy to thrive through perimenopause with less stress: https://www.breakingthroughwellness.com/

Take my free masterclass about Lifewave patches & order here

Check out my FullScript here where you can see curated best supplement picks, including Thorne’s Magnesium Bysglycinate & the Concentrace Minerals mentioned in this podcast. Save 20% off under “Catalog” → “Favorites” A portion of EACH sale goes back to support BTW. Thank you!

Take advantage of our podcast discount on Kion’s science-backed products. Code "LOUISE" saves on all future orders: : https://www.getkion.com/pages/maximizing

Episode Highlights:
(3:00) How daylight saving time affects hormones and sleep
(5:30) Why sleep is the foundation for performance and fat loss
(7:22) Hormone changes that disrupt sleep
(9:09) Sleep hygiene and creating the ideal sleep environment
(12:06) Poor sleep disrupts progesterone and recovery
(14:06) Sunlight and circadian rhythm
(16:07) Hydration strategies to recover from poor sleep

Tune in weekly to "Maximizing Hormones, Physique, and Running Through Perimenopause" for our simple female-specific science-based revolution. Let's unlock our best with less stress!

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