When your body is going through significant hormone changes while you’re on your period or experiencing pre-menstrual symptoms, getting adequate quality sleep can feel impossible. Between changing hormone levels, physical pain, stress and anxiety, falling asleep at all might just be a miracle for many women. If you feel this way, you’re definitely not alone, as sleep loss is an extremely common symptom of both periods and pre menstrual cycles. Thankfully, when you know what causes your discomfort, you can better address your symptoms and get a better night’s sleep.
How Your Pre Menstrual Cycle and Period Affect Your Sleep
Just before and during your period, your body is going through significant hormonal changes which can lead to an abundance of inconvenient symptoms that can negatively affect your sleep patterns. Some of these symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Bloating
- Increased Stress and Anxiety Levels
- Cramping in the Abdomen and Back
- Tenderness in Breasts
- Headaches and Migraines
All of these symptoms can make restful sleep during your period difficult. And while increased fatigue and sleepiness are common during your period and during your pre menstrual cycle, the increased stress levels and physical symptoms can often make it difficult to relax enough to fall asleep.
How Changing Hormone Levels Affect Your Sleep
While you’re on your period, your body sees a significant change in hormones like estrogen and progesterone. These hormones fluctuate throughout your menstrual cycle, and progesterone reaches its peak during your period, and it can often cause sweats, making it harder to get comfortable enough at night to fall asleep. Additionally, progesterone levels can affect the actual quality of sleep you get and how long your body spends in each stage of sleep, meaning that even if you have been in bed for 6 to 8 hours, it might not have been restful.
How You Can Improve Sleep on Your Period
Pain management, changes in diet, and light exercise like stretching can all help your body relax and help manage your hormone levels while you’re on your period so that you can get better sleep while your body is going through significant changes. Additionally, if you’re experiencing night sweats, you can turn up your air conditioning or sleep with a fan to help with airflow to keep you cool and hopefully rested throughout the night!
For Women’s Health and More, Come to The Team of Experts at Revive Medical Center
For attentive women’s healthcare, trust the team at Revive Medical Center in Lawrenceville, GA! Call to make your appointment today!
