Can’t sleep? It could be your hormones

Your body is home to at least 50 different hormones; each one plays an important role in regulating biological functions (including sleep). Which hormones impact sleep and how do we fix it?

Progesterone

Who it impacts – Women around their cycles (PMS)

Have you noticed your sleep sucks the week or two before your period? Blame progesterone!

Right after ovulation, there is an increase in progesterone. If no pregnancy occurs, the progesterone levels rapidly decline. Progesterone usually helps to soothe mood and can help calm the body down. When progesterone levels are really low, it can make us feel more anxious and more on edge, which is why some women can find it hard to get good quality sleep in those “PMS” days. 

This tends to be worse in women with PCOS or PMS. Women with PCOS can experience irregular periods, which leads to higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of progesterone. These hormonal irregularities can make sleep problems worse.

Estrogen

Who it impacts -Peri-Menopausal + Menopausal Women

Peri-menopause is a time where women’s hormone levels fluctuate dramatically – especially estrogen. This time period is marked by a dramatic decrease in estrogen levels. This can lead to those unwanted symptoms we associate with menopause like night sweats and hot flashes which can keep the brain active and awake the brain during the night. 

We find that lower estrogen levels can cause women to experience insomnia and nighttime waking, especially at 2 or 3 am. 

Cortisol

Who it impacts – Everyone!

Cortisol’s role in the body is to initiate the fight-or-flight response when it is activated by a stressor and to influence the your circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle. Cortisol levels ideally follow a cyclical rhythm over a 24-hour day to influence your sleep-wake cycle. The rise and fall of this stress hormone is crucial for helping you fall and stay asleep throughout the night, and wake up in the morning.

Cortisol levels should be higher in the morning – to give you energy to get your day started, and lower in the evening and overnight – to stimulate the release of melatonin so you can fall and stay asleep.

When we are chronically stressed, eating irregularly, cortisol levels can stay high in the evening. This causes a decrease melatonin production therefore making it hard for you to fall asleep and doesn’t allow you to get into a deep, restorative sleep.

Learn more about cortisol here and cortisol testing here.

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP

1. CHECK IN ON YOUR HORMONES!
   • Check in with your ND to assess and test your hormone levels.
   • If you’ve been having difficulty sleeping we can test your estrogen, progesterone, melatonin levels using DUTCH Comprehensive Hormone Testing
2. Avoid screens 30 minutes before bed
   • The blue light emitted from screens has been associated with the suppression of melatonin (our sleep-inducing hormone!), prolonged time to fall asleep, shortened duration of sleep, time in REM sleep and reduced alertness the following morning.
   • Try apps that block blue light or blue-light blocking glasses
3. Make bed-time a ritual
   • Ease into sleep time with a period of relaxing activities an hour or so before bed.
   • Try a quiet activity like reading, journalling or listening to a guided meditation before bed
   • Set the temperature in your room to a comfortable level – increased body and bedroom temperature can decrease sleep quality
4. Supplements can help!
   • Melatonin, GABA, L-Theanine and magnesium have all been shown to help with sleep
5. Avoid coffee, alcohol and other stimulants in the afternoon and evening
   • Caffeine can stay elevated in your blood for 6–8 hours after drinking
   • Alcohol alters nighttime melatonin production
6. Get some sunshine during that day!
   • A study found that 2 hours of daytime natural bright light increased the amount of sleep by two hours and sleep efficiency by 80%

Always check in with your Naturopathic Doctor or other health care provider before starting any treatments or making changes to your healthcare plan.

 If you are interested in optimizing your hormonal health, sleep, or overall health I am a Naturopathic Doctor in Toronto, Mississauga and Vaughan and would love to help you reach your health goals. Feel free to reach out and check out available appointments here!

In health,

Dr. Courtney Ranieri, ND