Sleep & Your Hormones
We know that sleep is important
It also has a direct impact on your reproductive hormones. Making sure your sleep and wake hormones (melatonin and cortisol) are secreted at the right times and with adequate quantity is crucial for your fertility. Not getting enough sleep, going to bed too late, and too much blue light at night (TV, phone, computer) can suppress melatonin, which is not only important for good sleep, but is a powerful antioxidant that supports egg quality.
Studies also show that working night shifts disrupts the circadian rhythm causing hormone imbalances like lower estrogen levels, irregular periods, more period pain, and increased time to conception. Poor sleep is associated with an impaired HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) axis activation which means more stress hormones are circulating which can have a direct impact on reproductive hormones. It’s kind of a chicken and the egg scenario, what came first? The HPA dysregulation (aka stress) or insomnia. Either way, both need to be treated to support healthy fertility. Sleep deprivation is linked to high TSH (hypothyroid), increased prolactin, higher estrogen levels, and impaired immunity, all of which can impair fertility.
According to a recent study in the journal Human Reproduction, length and quality of sleep can affect IVF outcomes. Having disturbed sleep, or sleeping less than 7 hours were associated with a 11.5% decrease in egg quantity and quality. Women who had trouble falling asleep more than three times per week had a lower number of mature eggs, fertilized eggs, and good-quality embryos than those who had no trouble.
Not getting enough sleep has such huge impact on our bodies, and I’m not just talking about energy levels.
🥱 Lack of sleep can…
➡️ Increase insulin resistance (blood sugar balance), cravings, and hunger.
➡️ Increases inflammation.
➡️ Lowers your immune system.
➡️ Reduces your ability to burn fat.
➡️ Increases cortisol (stress hormone) and makes you less resilient to stress.
➡️ Increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
➡️ Reduces growth hormone secretion, which is essential for growth, cell repair, and overall health.
➡️ Decreases testosterone levels in men.
➡️ Increases ovulatory irregularity.
PMID: 31613456, 31613456, 25640603, 34801825, 35042515
Sometimes we really do try to get our 8 hours of shut eye but our sleep quality still sucks. Some common causes of insomnia include: stress and HPA axis dysfunction (high cortisol), blood sugar dysregulation (low blood sugar), not enough wind down time at night, too much caffeine, magnesium deficiency, thyroid disease, low progesterone, or anxiety/depression.
😴 So how can we improve our sleep?
1️⃣ Go to bed and wake up around the same time each day (within an hour).
2️⃣ A good night’s sleep starts in the morning (get morning sun).
3️⃣ Keep your bedroom dark, cool, and well ventilated.
4️⃣ Avoid caffeine after 12pm.
5️⃣ Minimize blue light exposure which reduces melatonin (backlit electronics - TV, phone).
6️⃣ Aim to be asleep by 10pm, 11pm at the latest. The earlier hours of the night (before 2am) are when we get our most restful and deepest sleep. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we advocate going to bed before 10 or 11pm. This is so we are asleep during Liver and Gallbladder hours so our body can revitalize properly.
7️⃣ Have a relaxing bedtime routine.
8️⃣ Avoid eating 2 hours before bed.
💊 Some of my favorite supplements for sleep:
Magnesium glycinate/bisglycinate: 200-400mg nightly before bed.
L-theanine: 200-400mg (with GABA 100-300mg or 5HTP (300-500mg) before bed.
Melatonin: 0.5-3mg nightly before bed.
Ashwagandha: 600mg nightly before bed.
Cortisol Manager by Integrative Therapeutics: 1 pill before bed.
Myoinositol powder: 2g twice per day.
Herbs: Kava Kava, Valerian, Chamomile, Lavender.
Peace & Periods,
Allison
Want to learn more about strategies you can use to support your menstrual cycle and fertility?
📘Access my FREE e-book: How to Start Balancing your Hormones: Fix Your Period Without Overwhelm.
📕 Learn about syncing your diet, lifestyle, exercise, and schedule to the hormonal fluctuations of each phase of your menstrual cycle in my Cycle Syncing e-book!
📗My Eating for Hormone Balance e-book breaks down everything you need to know about diet and your hormones. Learn about the basic macros, how to support gut health, what to do about inflammation, and more!
📞 Book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if we're a good fit to work together.
👩🏻💻 Book a 60-90 min initial consultation where we work 1:1 to dig deep into your health history to figure out the root causes of your period problems. From there I provide you with an individualized treatment plan and consistent support along the way.
🏫 Period University™ is the ultimate self-paced online course that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about your period and hormones.
