{
  "id": 49141,
  "title": "Annie thought perimenopause symptoms were keeping her awake. Alcohol was playing a role too | Diane Young",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/annie-thought-perimenopause-symptoms-were-keeping-her-awake-alcohol",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-02T15:00:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Health",
    "slug": "guardian-health",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/03/perimenopause-alcohol-sleep"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Annie, a 43-year-old woman, was struggling to find relief from the symptoms of perimenopause, which included hot flushes, anxiety, poor sleep, mood swings, and brain fog. She attributed her sleepless nights and daytime exhaustion to stress and the hormonal changes associated with perimenopause. However, her situation was more complex than she initially realized. Despite her demanding schedule as a full-time hospitality HR manager, juggling three teenage children, and managing household responsibilities, Annie's sleep problems persisted for six months. During this time, she experienced headaches, mood swings, and a constant sense of feeling overwhelmed. It wasn't until she recognized the role of alcohol in exacerbating her symptoms that she began to find some measure of relief.",
  "summary": "Hot flushes, anxiety, poor sleep and mood swings are common during perimenopause. But the very thing Annie was using to manage her symptoms had become an even bigger problem The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work When Annie* started pacing around her house at 3am and struggling to find words during work meetings, she put it down to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}