A drink or a good night’s sleep: pick one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me- a drink gives me awful anxiety. I’ve stopped drinking. Turning 50 next week.

I’m a big fan of gummies and a mocktail.

OP. I tried gummies once and it was awful, I got major anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grab a gummy and a mocktail.

Stupid idea. Wait until you get the night sweats and neurotransmitter lag after your drugs wear off...

Mocktail and a sleep meditation. you'll be fine. Count your blessings if this is your biggest peri/meno complaint!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pick sleep and yes, this is what it is.

I used to be a big drinker in my 20s and early 30s, and also really, really enjoyed the occasional glass of wine in my 40s. In my 50s, it’s not worth it.

There are many negatives with aging and menopause that cause your quality of life to go down and don’t have easy fixes. This is not one of those. Don’t drink. Easy peasy…. If this is difficult for you then maybe you have bigger problems.

That. Find an n/a wine or a mocktail you enjoy, if having a beverage in your hand is important to you. You'll be okay.

[Anonymous]

"gummies" are the stupidest of stupid ideas. You have no idea what's in them, they're not regulated at all. THC extracts have been linked to CHS and other horrible withdrawal syndromes, most edibles have dyes and synthetics in them, they're crap for your teeth, and you'll build a tolerance faster than you think.

And that's before we get into what you're doing flooding your brain with neurotransmitters and activating your endocannabinoid syndrome all willy-nilly.

Calling it a cutesy name and treating it like a snack doesn't make it less of a drug. Gummies are for idiots.

[Anonymous]

Yes this is how it is. Sometimes I drink at brunch/lunch. With family I advocate lungi feasts for Thanksgiving and such holidays so I can have a glass early and walk it off. Also enjoy a non alcoholic beer once in awhile. Used to drink a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"gummies" are the stupidest of stupid ideas. You have no idea what's in them, they're not regulated at all. THC extracts have been linked to CHS and other horrible withdrawal syndromes, most edibles have dyes and synthetics in them, they're crap for your teeth, and you'll build a tolerance faster than you think.

And that's before we get into what you're doing flooding your brain with neurotransmitters and activating your endocannabinoid syndrome all willy-nilly.

Calling it a cutesy name and treating it like a snack doesn't make it less of a drug. Gummies are for idiots.

OP. I am not moving to gummies. I tried one once and hated it. It is not an option for me.

Also, I don’t really enjoy wine for the relaxation anyhow. I like it with high quality food, and the only time I have a glass is when I am at a very nice restaurant. I drink maybe 2-3 glasses of wine a month, always with a nice meal.

I am sad to lose that culinary experience because I love a good wine pairing but that is where I am, it sounds like. I like the culinary experience, but I like sleep and not feeling like garbage the next day more.

[Anonymous]

Bad news for you OP. I used to enjoy great wine pairings with high end meals too, prior to age 60. It just doesn’t work for me at all now. Not only does it destroy my sleep and wreck my next day, but now I find I don’t even enjoy the wine any more and it kills the food experience. It’s wack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bad news for you OP. I used to enjoy great wine pairings with high end meals too, prior to age 60. It just doesn’t work for me at all now. Not only does it destroy my sleep and wreck my next day, but now I find I don’t even enjoy the wine any more and it kills the food experience. It’s wack.

😢😢😢

[Anonymous]

I still enjoy my wine and I am a good sleeper. I am also older and post menopausal. For me, the trick is just not to have that glass of wine less than 3 hours before bed. Less than that and it messes up REM sleep.

[Anonymous]

It helps me a lot to have an electrolyte drink before bed (nuun tablet). I also wear my Fitbit to sleep and notice my sleep stats as far as which behaviors/habits prevent me from getting deep sleep (heart rate below resting level for the entire night). Alcohol does disrupt it, but hydration helps.

Taking my Claritin at night was also messing with my sleep. That plus alcohol made extra crappy sleep. Now I don’t take Claritin at bedtime. So, try and identify if medications, stress, or. other factors are contributing. When I minimize the other factors, the alcohol impact isn’t as bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bad news for you OP. I used to enjoy great wine pairings with high end meals too, prior to age 60. It just doesn’t work for me at all now. Not only does it destroy my sleep and wreck my next day, but now I find I don’t even enjoy the wine any more and it kills the food experience. It’s wack.

OP. What do you do at dinners now? I don’t generally like mocktails because they are almost always too sweet. What works best for you as a pairing?

[Anonymous]

Stop drinking, start sleeping well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It helps me a lot to have an electrolyte drink before bed (nuun tablet). I also wear my Fitbit to sleep and notice my sleep stats as far as which behaviors/habits prevent me from getting deep sleep (heart rate below resting level for the entire night). Alcohol does disrupt it, but hydration helps.

Taking my Claritin at night was also messing with my sleep. That plus alcohol made extra crappy sleep. Now I don’t take Claritin at bedtime. So, try and identify if medications, stress, or. other factors are contributing. When I minimize the other factors, the alcohol impact isn’t as bad.

OP. I wear an Apple Watch and can see that the evenings I have a glass of wine with dinner, my heart rate remains elevated for much of the night and I have more frequent wakeups even if I don’t remember them all.

I actually am lucky in that I sleep well most nights and since I only have a glass of wine every two weeks or so, I have a pretty good comparison.

The tip about electrolytes is interesting and I may experiment with that.

[Anonymous]

I've started throwing up in the middle of the night after drinking ONE glass of wine.

[Anonymous]

I have fabulous perimenopausal insomnia without ever taking to drink, OP! Maybe I should try drinking!