Philadelphia Sleep Physician Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown Featured on FOX 29, Launches Free "Perimenopause Sleep Guide" for Women Struggling to Sleep in Midlife

Triple board-certified sleep physician Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown appeared on FOX 29 Philadelphia to explain why so many women in perimenopause suddenly can't sleep — and what actually helps. Her free Perimenopause Sleep Guide, available now at TheRestfulSleepPlace.com, breaks down the hormonal science behind midlife sleep disruption and lays out an evidence-based path to better rest.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, FAASM, a triple board-certified sleep physician and founder of The Restful Sleep Place, was featured on FOX 29 Philadelphia on Wednesday, August 5, to address one of the most common — and most overlooked — health concerns among women in their 40s and 50s: the sudden, persistent inability to sleep. During the segment, Dr. Afolabi-Brown invited viewers to download her free Perimenopause Sleep Guide, now available at TheRestfulSleepPlace.com.

The guide speaks to a problem millions of women experience but are frequently told is "just stress." An estimated 61% of perimenopausal and menopausal women report significant sleep disturbance, making it one of the most prevalent concerns in midlife women's health — yet it remains underrepresented in sleep research and undertreated in everyday clinical practice.

As Dr. Afolabi-Brown explains, sleep and hormones are not separate systems. During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone don't simply decline; they fluctuate erratically, and that hormonal turbulence has direct, measurable effects on sleep. Shifting estrogen destabilizes the body's temperature regulation, which can trigger the classic 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. wake-up, while falling progesterone removes a natural calming effect and can contribute to lighter, more fragmented sleep. Over time, a hormonal problem can become a behavioral one, as the brain learns to associate the bed with wakefulness rather than rest.

"Women are told for years that their sleep problems are stress, anxiety, or just a normal part of getting older," said Dr. Afolabi-Brown. "But this sleep disruption is real, it is physiological, and there are evidence-informed reasons it is happening. My goal with this guide is to help women understand what is actually going on in their bodies — and to know that effective, evidence-based help exists."

The Perimenopause Sleep Guide is organized into five sections. It explains the hormone–sleep connection, why standard sleep advice so often falls short for women in midlife, and what the evidence actually supports — including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), addressing hot flashes and night sweats directly, ruling out sleep-disordered breathing, and aligning sleep timing with a woman's individual circadian rhythm. It also outlines the signals that indicate it may be time to see a sleep specialist and includes a printable seven-day sleep tracker that patients can bring to an appointment.

Dr. Afolabi-Brown is careful to frame the guide as educational rather than a substitute for individualized care. Effective sleep care for perimenopausal women, she notes, means treating the full picture — hormonal, behavioral, and medical — rather than any single dimension in isolation. The guide is intended to help women recognize what they are experiencing and have a more informed conversation with a qualified clinician.

The free Perimenopause Sleep Guide is available for immediate download at TheRestfulSleepPlace.com. Women who would like to discuss their own sleep can also request a complimentary 15-minute consultation through the website.

More About Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown

Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, FAASM, is a triple board-certified sleep medicine physician and a Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. She completed her sleep medicine training at the University of Pennsylvania. She is among a small number of physicians who hold board certification in both adult and pediatric sleep medicine. She is among a small number of physicians who hold board certification in both adult and pediatric sleep medicine.

Through her practice, The Restful Sleep Place, Dr. Afolabi-Brown offers concierge sleep medicine care with extended appointment times and a whole-person approach, with particular focus on women in midlife, children, and families. She treats insomnia, sleep apnea, circadian rhythm disorders, and menopause-related sleep disruption, among other conditions, and offers telehealth in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and California.

Dr. Afolabi-Brown is the bestselling author of Beyond Tired: A Sleep Physician's Guide to Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems for Good, a national and international speaker on sleep and women's health, and a recognized Top Doctor in the Philadelphia region. Her work has been featured on national platforms including ABC, Fox, Forbes, and the Wall Street Journal.

For more information or to download the free Perimenopause Sleep Guide, visit TheRestfulSleepPlace.com. 

Media Contact

Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown
The Restful Sleep Place
(215) 607-8297
Horsham, PA
https://www.therestfulsleepplace.com

SOURCE The Restful Sleep Place