And perhaps all you need to do about the sleep is to get into some relaxation techniques and this may be the ultimate lesson to be learned from this symptom. Lots of us found that getting up and doing something, eating some cheese, drinking some warm milk, reading something light, taking a warm bath, having a cup of chamomile tea ...any silly -indulgent- little thing that could take half hour or less in the middle of the night allowed us to get back to sleep instead of lying there and fretting. 

 I personally found that going to bed no earlier than midnight allowed me to miss the early-waking hours and I do fine on the 5-6 hours my body now needs. I hear of women who take naps during the day, go to bed around 9pm and then complain that they wake up at 4am. This means to me that they are getting too much sleep, not too little.  There is no rule that everyone needs 8 hours and most of us need less when we get older. But fretting about things can be a big part of the problem and just that knowing some of these changes are okay helps more than anything else. 

 Keep in mind that things have been written down on this planet for only 10,000 years and we humans have been on it for over 1 million years. That is a very long time when women had to  rely only on oral tradition and non-verbal messages about the cessation of their reproductive lives. This to me can be why we have these harmless clusters of menopause changes and signs to let us know that things will be fundamentally shifting for our lives. Plus typically middle aged women would be grandmothers at this time for the "tribe" so that on a biological level maybe we were supposed to be up in the middle of the night so that the birth mothers could get the sleep. So just tell your primitive body/brain that you don't need to do this anymore in the 20th Century. 

 Or maybe waking in the middle of the night is to remind us that women are moon cycle creatures and that the night hours are ours for our own mysteries. Definitely an outdated concept today, but again we have been moon followers with our periods for a million years. Get up and light a candle, make a burnt offering and chant to the Queen of the Night and see what happens. But do it quietly because women's mysteries are meant to be very, very private. 

 Sleep deprivation is a classic part of ritual initiation whether it is boot camp or fraternity hazing. The point is to break down the Ego and allow a new individual to come forth which is exactly what menopause is all about. This period of time where we get broken down by the sleep disturbances can be a test to see if we drop out into drugs and convention or if we find new ways to chart our own new midlife courses and find power and control from within, rather than from without. 

 Classically, midlife is the death of the externally directed Ego, the initiation into the world of the shadow and its emotional volatility, the exploration of the dream world and the re-awakening of the unconscious parts of our inner-directed psyches which had taken a different turn when our lives at puberty became devoted to our reproductive functions. Whether we had children or not, it was our primary focus. 

 And now, that detour of our lives is over and we have to prepare new ground for a different life orientation. If nothing has been consciously chosen about these new years ahead of us, then sleeplessness nudges us to do some introspection about and acceptance of our new roles. Only women have to adjust to such major shifts in their biological roles. But even men, many of them, tell stories about also going to the "4am Cafe"  at this time in their lives. 

 One author said that insomnia was a way of avoiding the nightmares about mortality and meaninglessness that can come at midlife. So for those who have not yet made intimate acquaintance with their nightly dream worlds, this is indeed a time for a wake-up call so that new night time friends can be made. Journal writing is another direct way into the unconscious that is trying to break through into the waking world. The rich and creative possibilities for these extra hours of the day are endless. 

 Surrender to insomnia, don't fight it. Acknowledge there can be reasons not yet understood for this midlife course correction. Look to find balance between the intellect, emotions, sensations and intuition. Meditate on this formula in your nightly waking hours and shift your life to meet its new realities. 

Joan L.