Someone responded to my last post on sleep and said:

“I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up multiple times a night.”

That sentence holds so much exhaustion in it. 

And it’s where so many midlife women are living… tired, frustrated, wondering what changed.

That’s what we’re going to figure out together in this email series. 

These 1-4am wake up calls are your body trying to tell you something and our job is to get curious.

The answer isn’t always one obvious thing, but one of the first places to look is blood sugar. Getting this piece right often helps you stay asleep at night, but guess what else it helps with…stable energy during the day and weight management. So you’re winning either way.

What actually happens when blood sugar drops too low at night

Your brain cannot run without glucose.

It doesn’t have a backup tank.

So when blood sugar dips during sleep, the body treats it like a mini emergency.

To keep you safe, it triggers the counter-regulatory response:

• the liver releases stored glucose

• cortisol and adrenaline rise to push sugar back into the bloodstream

• heart rate increases slightly

• body temperature shifts

• the brain becomes more alert

This is survival biology.

That surge is what you experience as:

• suddenly being wide awake

• racing or busy thoughts

• feeling slightly anxious or “on”

• sometimes even warmth or mild sweating

Why this shows up now even if you haven’t changed how you eat:

As estrogen declines in midlife:

• cells become less sensitive to insulin

• muscles don’t store glucose as easily

• the liver releases sugar more quickly at night

• stress hormones rise faster to compensate

So the same meals you’ve eaten for years (or the same level of fasting) can suddenly lead to a 3 a.m. blood sugar dip that screams danger.

Your body is playing by new metabolic rules. Once you understand them you can control the outcomes.

The most powerful reset happens in the MORNING

What you do in the first 60 minutes after waking sets the tone for the next 24 hours for your blood sugar.

These are my tips to start laying the foundation for more stable blood sugar. 

Eating 25–30g of protein + 10g of fiber within 30-60 minutes of waking. If you do nothing else, start here and watch how your energy and cravings change throughout the day. Eventually, that will organically lead to better choices for your blood sugar all day long which will support better sleep. Why it helps:

• tells the liver it doesn’t need to panic later

• supports stable glucose all day

• reduces afternoon crashes and evening cravings

• lowers the odds of a nighttime cortisol surge

Think of breakfast as a metabolic anchor, not just a meal.

Women who skip breakfast or rely on coffee alone are far more likely to experience that 1–4 a.m. wake-up — even if they “aren’t hungry.” If breakfast is hard for you, a smoothie can easily get the job done and set you up for success in minimal time.

Next, consider a high protein + healthy fat snack about an hour before bed. How to know if you might need a post-dinner snack:

• wake between 1–4 a.m.

• feel alert or anxious at night

• dream intensely then wake

• feel better after a few bites of food

your body may need a gentle bridge through the night.

My go to option:

✨ Triple Boost with almond milk before bed

→ 21g protein + healthy fat

→ only 70 calories

→ can be made with warm almond milk for a soothing wind down drink

Protein + a little fat slows glucose release so your body doesn’t need a cortisol rescue at 3 a.m.

This isn’t “extra calories” — it’s metabolic insurance.

Start here (keep it simple)

• Eat 25–30g protein + 10g of fiber within 30–60 minutes of waking
• Include at least 30g of protein and 10g of fiber at every meal, but especially breakfast and dinner.
• Don’t skip dinner or push long fasts if you wake at night
• Try a small protein-forward snack about an hour before bed if 3 a.m. wake ups are your pattern
• If you eat dessert, have it right after the meal, not an hour or two later when it’s hitting more of an empty stomach and spiking blood sugar. (What goes up must come down.)
• Take a post dinner walk. Three 10-20 minute walks a day can be amazing for helping to regulate blood sugar.
• Avoid alcohol in the evenings, especially in the last few hours before bed.

For many women, these basics alone change a lot (over time).

And if you’re thinking, “I’m already doing all of this…”

I hear you and here’s what I want you to consider…

sometimes we think we’re doing better than we are. I was guilty of that too.

Last year I wore a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for four weeks and it opened my eyes to:

• how stress was spiking my glucose (we’ll talk about this in an upcoming email)

• which “healthy” meals didn’t work for me

• how dinner timing affected my sleep

• how breakfast timing affected my sleep

It gave me real data instead of guessing or assuming that just because my choices qualified as healthy…they were what my body needed.

Another deeper path is HTMA testing, because mineral imbalances can make chasing sleep feel impossible. Certain patterns we see over and over can keep the nervous system stuck in alert and make blood sugar harder to stabilize – even when it feels like you’re doing everything right. If minerals are imbalanced or depleted our bodies can be operating in survival mode keeping us running on stress hormones. When this happens, it’s an uphill battle to heal with lifestyle alone. The minerals need to be restored for the body to get the message that it’s safe. 

So what now?

If this email feels like all new information… start with the basics to stabilize your blood sugar.

If you’ve truly built the foundations and still can’t sleep that’s when we look deeper and that’s when I introduce supplements to help fill the gaps.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the piece almost every woman underestimates:

👉 Your nervous system.

Why “tired but wired” blocks sleep and how to create safety in your body again.

Remember, while you’re figuring this out, supports can help

Lifestyle is the foundation, always.

But you still have to live, work, parent, and function while your body relearns these rhythms.

This is where supplements can give you an edge:

For sleep support

• SureSleep – calming the nervous system and supporting deeper cycles

• Hugh & Grace PM Supplement – gentle nervous system and stress resilience support. I take this between and 3-5 pm daily.

For daytime energy when sleep is off

• Creatine – cognitive and mental stamina on low-sleep days. Research shows that creatine can partially protect cognitive performance after sleep deprivation. In studies where participants were sleep-deprived, creatine supplementation improved working memory, reaction time, and mental fatigue, likely by supporting brain energy availability (ATP) when sleep loss increases metabolic demand. In simple terms: creatine doesn’t replace sleep, but it helps the brain stay online when sleep was poor — especially under stress or cognitive load.

• NMN – steady cellular energy instead of stress-driven fuel

• Hugh & Grace Morning Routine – foundational metabolic and nervous system support. It’s the synergy of the ingredients in this 3 step 1 minute routine that supports gut health, liver health, energy, mental clarity and therefore enhanced hormone health. The simplicity and the synergy make it easy to stay consistent and you feel the shift in 14-21 days. It’s why I’ve been using it for over 2 years.

Think of these as bridges, not replacements. They’re tools that hold you while the real work takes root. You don’t need all of them. Choose one or two to start. If you’re extremely sleep deprived and find sleep is an issue every night – I would start with SureSleep and Creatine and prioritize the lifestyle shifts you will learn in these emails. They are non-negotiable.

If sleep is an occasional issue and you are trying to get ahead of it before it becomes a big challenge, you might start with the Hugh & Grace Morning Routine to support your foundations and try a few of the lifestyle tips in these emails.

Need help deciding what’s next?

Keep an eye out for Email 3 on the nervous system + racing mind. This is the missing piece for so many women.

Or just hit reply and tell me:

👉 Do you want to explore supplements, testing, or do you have another question?

I’m here to help you connect the dots.

— Calie

Ready to keep learning…head to the next post in this series here.