Sleep and Fertility: Does it really matter?
Our modern society’s need to go, go, go is finally catching up with our body’s need to physically slow down. The ability to operate on the fewest hours of sleep has been praised as an accomplishment, as though compromising health for wealth is an admirable personality trait. Unfortunately this go-go mentality does not work when considering fertility health. Sleep is a requirement for the reproductive system to work properly.
Human beings have developed as diurnal creatures over the last 5-7 million years, meaning we are meant to be awake during the daytime and asleep at night. Hormones that are disrupted with decreased duration, poor quality, and wrong timing of sleep include:
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)-the hormone that triggers ovulation
Follicular Stimulating Hormone (FSH)-the hormone that stimulates egg growth
Progesterone-the pregnancy hormone
Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)-prompts the thyroid gland to make and release thyroid hormones
Leptin-regulates eating
Melatonin-initiates onset of sleep and is found in amounts 2x higher around ovaries
Prolactin (PRL)-if too high can result in lack of releasing an egg
Estrogen (E)-maintains uterine lining needed for implantation
Testosterone (T)-needed to produce estradiol, strengthen bones, build muscles, and make new blood cells.
Adults are now getting an average of 6.8 hours of sleep per night compared to 9 hours just a century ago. Forty percent of adults now sleep less than 6 hours per night. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society recommend that adults aged 18–60 years sleep at least 7 hours each night to promote optimal health and well-being. Disruptions to this light-dark cycle timing alters the brain’s output of many hormones, changes how the body functions, and is associated with chronic illnesses.
“Sleeping less than seven hours per day is associated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent mental distress,” according to the CDC website.
How can sleep disruptions be so harmful to our fertility?
For women decreased sleep coincides with postpartum depression, pregnancy difficulties, menopausal transition issues, and premenstrual stress.
Unexplained Infertility: The blue light emitted by your electronics suppress melatonin, a key hormone that both helps you sleep and protects your eggs when during ovulation. Without adequate melatonin production, your egg quality can suffer and make achieving a pregnancy more difficult.
PCOS: Without the proper timing of sleep, LH is not lowered appropriately, keeping testosterone higher and progesterone lower than the body requires which leads to further ovulation problems.
Endometriosis/Estrogen Dominance: Poor sleep schedules and partial sleep deprivation are associated with increased levels of estrogen which decreased by 60% with regular sleep schedules.
Insulin Resistance: Increased insulin levels through eating later into the evening when sleep should be occurring, increases testosterone production in theca cells of the ovaries, further worsening fertility issues.
Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Melatonin has been shown to be higher in follicular fluid than the general circulation and levels exhibit a 24 hour rhythm, increasing values as the egg enlarges and ovulation approaches. Melatonin aids in ensuring optimal placental function and successfully maintains pregnancy as well as corpus luteum development and progesterone production.
Luteal Phase Defect: FSH and LH are influenced by the light-dark cycle directly. When it is dark the brain signals the release of FSH and when the sunrises LH rises.
Atypical Neurodevelopment of Offspring: Melatonin signal disruptions in mom during pregnancy has been shown to increase the frequency of ADHD and autism in offspring.
Eating disorders in Offspring: Prenatal exposure to excess testosterone led to enlarged fat cells and binge eating disorders in offspring.
Male Infertility: Improper sleep decreases testosterone production and sperm motility.
Sleep Hygiene suggestions
WHEN: No later than 11pm, 10pm or earlier would be best
HOW LONG: 7-8 hours minimum
QUALITY: Follow light-dark cycle
Turn off electronics by 9pm or use blue-light blocking or rose colored glasses at night. These glasses have been shown to increase melatonin secretion by 70%.
Take TV out of bedroom
DON’T turn on the light at night. Skin cells communicate light exposure to the pineal gland which then decreases melatonin production in the overnight hours.
Wear an eye mask if ambient light is in the room
Watch the sunrise or at least get sunlight first thing BEFORE CELL PHONE light, mid-day sun, and watch the sunset
Try 10,000 luks of full spectrum light for 20 minutes from a light box first thing in the morning
Sleep disorders are known to be associated with reproduction challenges and now research is showing not just the time of day you sleep but the quality and quantity also impact fertility. According to a peer reviewed article in Fertility and Sterility, “both stable circadian rhythms and cyclic melatonin availability are critical for optimal ovarian physiology and placental function. Because light exposure after darkness onset at night disrupts the master circadian clock and suppresses elevated nocturnal melatonin levels, light at night should be avoided.” Heed this warning when trying to conceive and are having difficulty, as ignoring an operation that has been developed over 5 million years has consequences.
Written by Nicole Kerr, ND, LAc