What Costs $2 and Works Three Times Better Than Sleep Supplements

It’s 3 a.m. Your brain is throwing a party you didn’t invite it to. Did you pay the electric bill? What about that work email? Did you lock the door? You’re awake. Again.

The magnesium pills are on your nightstand. Next to the fancy sleep drops. Next to the other thing that didn’t work. You’ve spent $180 trying to sleep.

Here’s what nobody told you: Your brain is too hot.

Let me explain what’s really going on. When most people fall asleep, the front part of their brain slows down. Like turning down the volume. But when you’re in perimenopause or menopause? Hormone changes make that part of your brain speed up instead. That’s why you can’t stop thinking. That’s the 2 a.m. worry spiral.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh tried something simple: They cooled down that part of the brain. They used special caps with cold water flowing through them. The result? It worked for 75 out of 100 women. Current sleep medications and supplements? They work for about 25 out of 100 women.

You’ve been trying to fix a heating problem with pills.

The money part: When only 1 out of 4 sleep products works, you keep buying. You’re not wasting money because you’re bad at this. You’re wasting money because hormone changes made your brain run hot, and nobody told you cooling it down was the answer.

Smart Money Moves

1. Try this tonight (costs almost nothing): Get a washcloth. Run it under cold water. Squeeze out the extra water. Fold it. Put it on your forehead when you’re trying to fall asleep. Or use a cold eye mask—the kind that covers your forehead too. You’re cooling down the hot, busy part of your brain.

2. Make it automatic: Before dinner, put two gel packs in the freezer. When you can’t sleep at 2 a.m., you don’t have to think. Just grab one from the freezer. No decisions when your brain is already tired.

3. Keep track of what works: Write down your sleep for one week using the cooling trick. How long did it take to fall asleep? How did you feel in the morning? This isn’t just for tonight. It’s proof for your next doctor visit. “I spent $180 on supplements. Here’s what actually worked.”

Here’s the truth: You’re not broken. Your brain is running hot because of hormone changes. That’s it.

This isn’t something you’re doing wrong. When hormones shift during menopause, they literally change how your brain handles temperature. You’ve been spending money trying to fix a temperature problem with chemistry.

The cold washcloth in your bathroom right now might work better than everything in your medicine cabinet.

You don’t need to buy anything. You just need to cool down.

Reply with one word: “Hot” or “Cooling.”

Send this to your friend who has a drawer full of sleep supplements that didn’t work. She needs to know it’s not her—it’s just heat.