Is Swimming Good for Insomnia During Perimenopause?
Can't sleep during perimenopause? Find out how regular swimming can improve sleep quality, help you fall asleep faster, and reduce night-time waking.
Sleep and Perimenopause: Why It's So Disrupted
Insomnia and poor sleep are among the most common complaints during perimenopause. The causes are multiple and often feed into each other. Night sweats and hot flashes wake you at 2am. Anxiety keeps your mind racing when you're trying to drift off. Falling progesterone, which normally has a calming, sleep-promoting effect, means your sleep quality is often lighter and less restorative than it used to be. Sleep deprivation then makes everything else worse: mood, focus, weight regulation, pain sensitivity. Breaking the cycle requires targeted strategies, and exercise is one of the most evidence-backed.
How Swimming Improves Sleep
Aerobic exercise like swimming promotes deeper, more restorative sleep. It increases the amount of slow-wave sleep, which is the most physically restorative stage, and reduces how long it takes to fall asleep. Swimming also reduces cortisol levels and lowers the baseline arousal of the nervous system, making it easier for the body to transition into sleep mode in the evening. The physical fatigue from swimming is the healthy, productive kind that makes sleep feel earned rather than elusive.
The Body Temperature Advantage
One of the interesting quirks of swimming is how it interacts with body temperature and sleep. Falling core body temperature is one of the signals your body uses to initiate sleep. Swimming in a cool pool gently lowers your core temperature during the session. As your body rewarming process begins after you leave the pool, it mirrors the natural cooling that promotes sleepiness. This makes a swim in the late afternoon or early evening particularly effective for women who struggle to fall asleep. Unlike intense exercise close to bedtime, a moderate swim can actually support rather than disrupt sleep onset.
Timing and Intensity Guidance
For sleep benefits, aim to swim in the late afternoon or early evening if your schedule allows. Avoid very high-intensity sessions within two hours of bed, as these can temporarily elevate adrenaline and make it harder to wind down. A 20 to 30 minute moderate swim is ideal. If night sweats are also a factor, swimming in a cool pool can provide relief from heat that lingers in the body and help regulate your temperature in the hours before bed.
Consistency Is the Key
Sleep improvements from exercise tend to build gradually rather than happening after a single session. Aim for two to four swims per week and give yourself four to six weeks to notice a consistent pattern. Logging your sleep quality alongside workout data in PeriPlan can help you see the connection between your swimming habit and how well you're sleeping. This kind of evidence is useful when motivation is low on a grey morning.
Pairing Swimming with Good Sleep Habits
Swimming works best as part of a broader sleep strategy. Keep your bedroom cool and dark, avoid screens for at least an hour before bed, and try to go to bed and wake at consistent times. If night sweats are disrupting sleep, lightweight breathable bedding and a fan can help. If insomnia is severe and persistent, speak to your GP. HRT can be very effective for perimenopause-related sleep disruption, and cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the gold standard psychological approach.
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