WHY DOES YOUR PERIOD CAUSE INSOMNIA?
There
are some period symptoms that are common but fixable in most cases (like PMS, cramping,
and moodiness), and
others that, for the most part, are physiologic (like bowel changes)–but
it’s possible to mitigate them with a few habit changes. Sleep disruption
around menses falls into the latter category, too, as there are good
physiological reasons why it happens.
The
Fixable Causes of Insomnia with Menses
Let’s
start with the obvious: if you’re anxious or in pain, you’re not going to be
sleeping very well. In these cases, insomnia is a secondary rather than a
primary effect of your period.
As
mentioned above, while cramping and moodiness are both quite common leading up
to and during menses, in most cases they are fixable. These both go back
to estrogen
dominance more often than not, and it is usually quite possible to
balance levels of estrogen to progesterone with a healthy diet, exercise, balancing your
gut flora, and/or liver
detoxification. There are supplements available that can
speed this process along, and in some cases these are necessary depending on
the actual diagnosis if there is one, and the level of severity. But these are
the basic principles.
Physiologic
Causes of Insomnia with Menses
The
main cause of insomnia during menses is the same as the most obvious cause of
looser bowels with menses: the sudden drop in progesterone. Progesterone has a
sedative effect (in fact whenever I prescribe bioidentical progesterone, I
always recommend that patients take it at night so that this doesn’t become a
problem. The sedative effect of progesterone is also one of the major causes of
fatigue in pregnancy, as the levels rise so steeply.) This is because
progesterone increases GABA receptor activity—one of the calming neurotransmitters,
and the target of benzodiazepines (the anti-anxiety class of medications, which
many people take for sleep as well). It also increases MAO activity (that
enzyme responsible for breaking down catecholamines, like adrenaline—and
obviously that can keep you awake.)
Because
the body is used to a higher level of progesterone, the precipitous decline can
cause a rebound of insomnia during menses.
The
other potential cause is the drop-off of estrogen. Estrogen
increases production of serotonin, which is the precursor
for melatonin (the sleep hormone). Low estrogen can therefore lead to low
melatonin.
What to
Do About It
For
many women whose hormones are otherwise in balance (through healthy eating,
exercise, liver detoxification and healthy gut flora), the drop in progesterone
isn’t enough to disrupt sleep.
For
those who do have an issue, progesterone *might* be an option—progesterone will
lighten the period, and too much of it may suppress it altogether. A better
choice would be tryptophan or 5HTP, the precursors for serotonin… or perhaps
just melatonin during menses. Doses for the former two vary, but I’d start with
1000 mg nightly of tryptophan, or (assuming you’re not on an SSRI or SNRI
medication) 50 mg 5HTP. For melatonin, a standard dose is around 3 mg.
DR. APPIAH
Dr. Appiah is a Natural Health Therapist (Naturopath) who engages the natural healing agents given by God to save lives. EAT FOOD AS MEDICINE! EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT!! FOR BOOKINGS AND MORE: WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS? WANT A PERSONAL(CERTIFIED) NATURAL MEDICINE PRACTITIONER? REACH ME DIRECTLY ON WHATSAPP +233245643615 appiahinok@gmail.com
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