Ask Ashley or Comment

If your sleep suddenly went off the rails in perimenopause, there’s a reason. Maybe you’re exhausted all evening but wide awake the second your head hits the pillow. Maybe you fall asleep easily but wake up at 2 a.m. hot, anxious, or thinking about something you haven’t thought about in 20 years.

Disrupted sleep during perimenopause doesn’t have one cause, which means it doesn’t have one universal fix. The key is figuring out what is actually disrupting your sleep and finding a solution for that problem. A cooler, darker bedroom isn’t going to help if acid reflux is what’s actually waking you up. And a supplement may not help if racing thoughts are keeping you awake.

I’m breaking down some of the reasons you may be waking up that you probably haven’t considered, why the usual sleep advice may not be working, and what you can try instead. We’ll talk about racing thoughts, morning light, caffeine, magnesium, melatonin, tart cherry juice, and a few surprisingly simple strategies that may help.

The Crap to Cut:

• Stop treating every sleep problem the same. Different disruptions need different solutions.
• Don’t assume a supplement will fix your sleep. Magnesium, melatonin, and tart cherry juice each have different uses.
• Match the solution to what’s actually waking you up. Pay attention to your sleep pattern and work backward from there.

Chapters

0:00 Intro
1:24 Why Perimenopause Messes With Your Sleep
3:11 Hormones, Temperature & Night Sweats
5:54 What’s Actually Waking You Up?
7:48 Racing Thoughts & the 2 A.M. Brain
10:06 Simple Tricks to Help You Fall Back Asleep
11:58 The Sleep Basics That Still Matter
13:55 Magnesium, Melatonin & Tart Cherry Juice
17:00 The Crap to Cut About Perimenopause Sleep
18:21 Ask Ashley: How Do I Stop the Middle-of-the-Night Worry? ashley ashley

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Join the Thrive Collective Facebook group and submit any questions

Let's Connect:@‌ashleythrivehealthcoach or via email: ashley@thrivehealthcoachingllc.com

Podcast Produced by Virtually You!

Ask Ashley or Comment

Absolutely — two short paragraphs before the three takeaways will make it tighter and easier to scan.

Did you ever think you might eat fewer cookies simply by moving where you keep them? Or that sitting on the couch at night could be part of what makes you automatically reach for a snack? We give willpower a lot of credit—and blame—but where we are, what we see, the time of day, and even what we do right before a behavior can become context clues that trigger our habits. Sometimes those cues support our health goals. Other times, they're quietly working against them.

Habits can make healthy behaviors easier, but they aren't necessarily permanent—and not every healthy behavior needs to become a habit. That's why I intentionally practice walking in different environments, even when I'm traveling. Staying active is connected to a long-term goal that matters to me, not just one routine or location. I'm sharing how you can use these same principles to build healthy behaviors that can adapt when your schedule, environment, or life inevitably changes.

You'll learn:

• How context clues in your environment can trigger behaviors—and how changing those cues may help interrupt patterns working against your goals
• Why healthy habits can disappear when your environment or schedule changes, and why needing to make an intentional choice doesn't mean you've failed
• How practicing important behaviors in different environments and connecting them to a meaningful goal may help them survive the inevitable changes of real life

I know it's not that easy, but it really is that simple.

Chapters

00:03 – A Simple Trick to Make Healthy Behaviors More Automatic
02:11 – What Science Is Teaching Us About Habits
04:37 – Habit vs. Goal-Directed Behavior: What’s the Difference?
08:24 – The Big Myth About Habits
10:23 – Why Context and Environment Matter More Than You Think
12:24 – Why Your Healthy Routine Can Fall Apart When Life Changes
14:30 – Why Needing to Plan Doesn’t Mean You’ve Failed
16:50 – Can a Habit Become a Choice Again?
18:59 – Should This Be a Habit—or Stay Connected to a Goal?
21:13 – How to Build Clear Cues for Healthy Behaviors
23:32 – Why I Practice Walking in Different Environments
25:59 – Cut the Crap: Your Habits Don’t Have to Be Permanent
27:00 – The Big Takeaway: Flexibility, Not Perfect Autopilot

Support the show

Get Weekly Health Tips: thrivehealthcoachllc.com

Join the Thrive Collective Facebook group and submit any questions

Let's Connect:@‌ashleythrivehealthcoach or via email: ashley@thrivehealthcoachingllc.com

Podcast Produced by Virtually You!

Ask Ashley or Comment

If you're still exercising primarily to burn calories, it may be time to rethink what you're actually training for. Strength training isn't just about changing how your body looks—it's about building a body that can support you for decades to come.

I'm joined by Kim Samari from MASE Fitness, who has spent more than 25 years in health and wellness. We talk about why muscle becomes increasingly important as women move through their 40s, 50s, and beyond—and why effective strength training doesn't require hours in the gym.

You'll learn:

• Why building muscle matters for metabolism, blood sugar, function, and long-term health
• What progressive overload actually means—and how to know if you're lifting enough
• Why common beliefs about getting “bulky,” needing more cardio, and being sore after every workout can keep women stuck
• How to make strength training work in real life, even if you only have 5–10 minutes
• Why recovery, proper form, and measuring progress beyond the scale are just as important as the workout itself

The goal isn't to punish your body with more exercise. It's to build strength that helps you move better, stay independent, support your health, and keep doing the things you want to do as you age.

I know it's not that easy, but it really is that simple.

Learn more about Mase Fitness: www.masefitness.com

Support the show

Get Weekly Health Tips: thrivehealthcoachllc.com

Join the Thrive Collective Facebook group and submit any questions

Let's Connect:@‌ashleythrivehealthcoach or via email: ashley@thrivehealthcoachingllc.com

Podcast Produced by Virtually You!