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Home » Diet » Menopause and insomnia: Could a low-GI diet help? – Harvard Health Blog – Harvard Health

Sleep disturbances such as insomnia are extremely common, especially in women after menopause. According to data from the National Institutes of Health, sleep disturbance varies from 16% to 42% before menopause, from 39% to 47% during perimenopause, and from 35% to 60% after menopause.

Insomnia is a serious medical problem defined by frequent difficulty falling or staying asleep that impacts a persons life in a negative way. Hormone changes around menopause can lead to sleep problems for many reasons, including changing sleep requirements, increased irritability, and hot flashes.

Researchers recently looked at detailed dietary data from over 50,000 postmenopausal women (average age 63) enrolled in the Womens Health Initiative study between 1994 and 2001. Carbohydrate intake was measured in several ways: glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), measures of added sugars, starch, total carbohydrate, and dietary fiber, and specific carbohydrate-containing foods such as whole grains, processed or refined grains, whole fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. They then looked at each participants risk of developing insomnia after three years of follow-up.

They found that the risk of developing insomnia was greater in women with a higher-GI diet, as well as in women who included more added sugars in their diet. Added sugars included white and brown sugar, syrups, honey, and molasses. The risk of developing insomnia was lower in women who ate more whole fruits and vegetables.

The researchers accounted for and adjusted for many potentially confounding factors, including demographic (education, income, marital status), behavioral (smoking, alcohol, caffeine intake, physical activity), psychosocial (stress, social connection), and medical factors (body mass index, various medical diagnoses, hormone therapy, snoring).

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of foods on a scale from 0 to 100 according to how much they raise blood sugar levels after eating them. Ive written previously about planning meals with knowledge of the GI and the glycemic load of foods. High-GI foods are those that are rapidly digested, absorbed, and metabolized, and cause spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. Some examples of high-GI foods include anything made with processed grains (bread, pasta, baked goods, white rice) and anything containing added sugars (sugary beverages, sweets).

Low-GI foods dont cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to spike, and include plant foods such as most fruits and vegetables, legumes and beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. Even plant foods that have a high GI such as bananas and watermelon are not likely bad for you when eaten in moderation.

Researchers hypothesize that high-GI foods cause insomnia because of the rapid spike and then crash of blood sugar levels. Essentially, what goes up must come down, and after blood sugar and insulin levels peak, they tend to drop, which can cause a lot of symptoms, including awakening from sleep. The researchers of this new study cite multiple studies supporting this theory.

Endless research connects the quality of our diet with our risk for heart disease, strokes, dementia, depression, and cancer. This new research notes that diet can also impact our risk for certain sleep problems. Its not just about eating the obviously healthy foods, but also about avoiding the obviously unhealthy foods.

In addition to practicing good sleep habits, here are some additional ways postmenopausal women can incorporate what we have learned from this study to sleep better (and be all-around healthier):

Insomnia: Definition, Prevalence, Etiology, and Consequences. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, August 2007.

National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: management of menopausal symptoms. Annals of Internal Medicine, June 21, 2005.

High glycemic load and glycemic index diets as risk factors for insomnia: analyses from the Womens Health Initiative. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 11, 2019.

Sleep Disorders in Postmenopausal Women. The Journal of Sleep Disorders and Therapy, August 2015.

About Glycemic index. The Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise and Eating Disorders and Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney.

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Menopause and insomnia: Could a low-GI diet help? - Harvard Health Blog - Harvard Health

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Home » Diet » Menopause and insomnia: Could a low-GI diet help? – Harvard Health Blog – Harvard Health