You might have already noticed a little bit of a pattern when it comes to poor quality sleep. I’m here to confirm, it’s not in your head and it’s likely linked to your hormones.
Statistically, women are 40% more likely to suffer from sleep disturbances! Which is quite huge. Sleep is essential for our energy levels, our brains, our immune systems and overall physical and mental health.
Yet - there’s not a lot of information out there for us to be able to improve it.
And the recommended guideline of 8 hours sleep per night ? - completely based on men’s bodies. As women we actually require closer to 9-10 hours sleep per night.
When we don’t get enough sleep or quality sleep, it can easily spiral - with fatigue impacting our ability to concentrate and irritability and mood swings getting in the way of our relationships.
The luteal phase is the time of our cycles that is most associated with poor sleep and recovery. Which is not the nicest timing seeing as we’re also dealing with PMS symptoms here too.
If we consider some PMS symptoms such as mood swings, fatigue, irritability… we could speculate that these may be being impacted by our reduced capacity to recover from our nights sleep.
It appears that the second half of our luteal phase is where sleep gets impacted the most. This is when estrogen and progesterone have already peaked and are now declining more and more each day in the lead up to our period. It has been found that REM sleep is reduced the most during this time. This form of sleep is associated with dreaming, emotional processing, memory consolidation and replenishment of neurotransmitters.
So, you might be wondering - what can I actually do about this?
Here are a few suggestions;
Try and get an extra hour of sleep during the luteal phase where possible. The easiest way to do this can be to go to bed 1 hour earlier, or go to bed 30 mins earlier and get up 30 mins later.
Consider your caffeine intake, are you drinking coffee after 3pm? We all metabolise caffeine differently - so in some people, a coffee at 1pm could be enough to make it hard to sleep. During the luteal phase, we are a lot more sensitive to caffeine, so reducing or cutting it out at this time may be enough to improve your sleep.
Getting outside for direct sunlight into your eyes is fantastic for regulating your sleep/wake hormones which can help you feel sleepier that evening.
Create an evening routine that helps you to wind down.
Consider avoiding alcohol during your late luteal phase.
Supplementing with magnesium glycinate can be really helpful if you struggle with getting to sleep.
Ensure you are balancing your blood sugars during the day by pairing meals and snacks with a protein and/or fat source.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can support your body’s unique requirements - my membership Empowered Cycles might be for you!
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