As well as being a frustrating symptom of menopause, hot flashes can have some unpleasant side effects of their own - insomnia being one of the more physically debilitating ones. Experiencing a hot flash during the night not only affects how you feel, it interrupts your sleep patterns and has a longer term impact on your health.

My grandma was the first person I can remember who used to suffer with insomnia brought on by her hot flashes - she'd explain all the details to us, describing herself as having "eyes like saucers" - which I now understand meant she was wide awake.

It seems that hot flashes, and insomnia in particular have plagued us for a very long time - as even the great Shakespeare wrote about it in Macbeth when he employs a physician to deal with his wife's insomnia: " Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Race out the written troubles of the brain; And with-some sweet oblivious antidote cleanse the stuft bosom of that perilous stuff which weighs upon the heart." Well, at least that's what it sounds like to me.

Impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy

So even though we have suffered from insomnia for hundreds of years, it seems to have been getting worse more recently. The reason behind this could be related to women having stopped using hormone replacement therapy after the tests told us that the risks far outweighed any potential benefits. The sudden withdrawals lead to recurrences of menopause symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats and problems sleeping.

A lot of women are now going through a whole heap of menopause symptoms again, that they had once thought gone for good. But the good news is that there are other solutions to the age old condition, and many of these are now showing to be very effective at not only treating the symptoms, but in protecting our health as well.

Although it's fairly common, particularly for menopausal and post-menopausal women, insomnia and sleeplessness isn't a "one size fits all" problem, but with a few simple approaches, it's fairly straightforward to determine which treatment would be best for you.

These days, women are learning to tailor treatment to their own medical history and risk factors. That often means sitting down with a health care provider and researching all the options carefully. For some, hormone replacement therapy is a reasonable short-term remedy.

Insomnia - Is It Age Related

Both men and women experience less-restful sleep after age 50 within the five stages of sleep, stage one, transitional sleep, and stage two, light sleep, are known as non rapid eye movement, or NREM sleep.

The deep sleep comes in stages three and four, which are also known as Delta sleep patterns. These stages are where we get the most benefit. They are deep states of sleep were we are totally unconscious and fully "under". Stage five is also called REM or Rapid Eye Movement sleep, which is where we dream.

After age 50 we spend more time in stages one and two, so we sleep lighter and are more likely to wake up. We get tired earlier in the evening and wake up earlier in the morning. But that doesn't mean we can't improve our sleep.

The first thing you need to do is figure out your sleep pattern and where the problem lies. Some people have difficulty falling asleep, while others will have problems staying asleep. Your problem may be that you're being woken by experiencing a hot flash, or it may be that you wake up, and then have the hot flush. So make some notes for reference.

Can Natural Herbal Remedies Help

While you have probably noticed that there are numerous herbal remedies for menopause and insomnia, you're probably wilting under a mountain of information. Some work, some don't - so buyer beware. Don't rely on sleeping medication too long - they should be seen as a short term solutions (at best) to help you get back into your routine.

Stopping Hot Flashes From Disrupting Your Sleep

If your hot flashes are causing your insomnia, you need to find out what is triggering them. For some women it's having a dream in the middle of the night that brings it on, for others it could be something as simple as a "spooky" noise like the heating system switching on. Rather than treating the symptoms with sleeping pills, look for the triggers and manage those.

You have to find out what your body needs and work with it to get back into your normal routine.

My suggestion would be start with simple things like changing your diet and your routine. Take 15 - 30 minutes at night before you go to bed and simply sit down somewhere quite (away from the TV) and relax. Relaxing in a darkened room helps your body to increase production of sleep hormones like melatonin. Don't do anything stimulating late at night, like exercise or taking a hot shower.

From a diet perspective - are you eating enough? Carbohydrate can increase sleep hormones, so if your on a low carb diet, you may want to include some carbs in your evening meal. Try a glass of warm milk )without the cookies) - it really does help. Though my personal recommendation would be to opt for a non dairy alternative drink like soya milk - purely because it's healthier. I'm not big on dairy products, but that's another story.

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Stop suffering from hot flashes and insomnia. Wendy Jones shares her experiences of hot flashes and insomnia on her blog talking about menopause symptoms