Naomi Watts suffered sleepless nights during the menopause.

The 55-year-old actress has revealed the transition started with dry, sensitive skin and the most "unpleasant symptom" was being unable to doze off at night because a lack of sleep causes so many other issues.

She told Forbes magazine: "For me, that [menopause] started with dry, sensitive, and irritable skin. But I would say the most unpleasant symptom I experienced was sleeplessness, because that is connected to so many other issues.

"When you don't sleep, you can't concentrate, you get brain fog, you get migraines, you get anxiety, you get stressed and depressed."

Naomi was diagnosed as menopausal when she was in her 30s and her symptoms kicked in when she was in her early 40s.

She launched her own beauty and wellness brand Stripes to help women deal with the menopause, but she says being more open about it and talking to friends has been a huge help and it's strengthened her relationships with other women.

She added to the outlet: "Once the conversation is open, you let go of all of that fear and stigma and taboo, and the truth is on the table in all the gory details. Just like we have needed to connect at every stage of a woman's life, about our health, first kisses, fertility, motherhood, you need conversations and a fountain of information about this time in our lives.

"Now I openly share about what I’m going through with my peers, and it's quite fun. And out of that has come strengthened friendships, because we’re more authentic with each other."

Naomi previously told Marie Claire magazine she thinks the menopause would be better accepted and understood if affected men instead of women. She explained: "If it was a male thing and that (symptoms like brain fog) was a regular symptom, we’d accept it so much more easily but somehow women have been taught to hold on to these secrets and suffer through them and soldier on.

"We shouldn’t have to. The more it’s understood in every arena of life, not just the household, not just the relationship but in the workplace, the more we can find ourselves operating from empathy. It’s not a disease, it’s not a failure. It’s just something that was always supposed to happen."