Heather’s Holistics

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Why is my sleep different during my period?

During my last three menstrual cycles, I had an intense energy shift the night before my period. I weirdly had the energy to randomly stay up until 2 am (usually I’m in bed by 11 pm). During the last cycle in particular, I took note of this seemingly random energy spike & did a little digging on the internet to see if there was any scientific reason as to why this was happening to me.

So I searched the research papers & the web, high and far…


”Why is my sleep different during my period”

Now, before I fully answer this question, I have to explain a bit of the mechanics of the menstrual cycle. For full disclosure, I want to be very clear that this is my personal interpretation of information that I have found available online. From what I see, there seems to be a lot of conflicting research & inconclusive studies over the past 10 years. So, take what I’m saying with a grain of salt. Know that I am not an expert on Melatonin & Estrogen relationships.

During the menstrual cycle, estrogen supports with the act of ovulation, you can see that the levels peak before ovulation and that they increase a bit after ovulation too (helping with the thickening of the uterine lining).

Estrogen is actually a really cool hormone, as it has a lot of functions in the body outside of the mechanics of menstruation.

When estrogen levels are out of balance, people may experience a lot of things including: irregular periods, absence of periods, weight gain, fatigue, fibroids, change in sleep and oh so much more - but you’re not here for that other stuff.

You want to know how your sleep is affected by your period, and I’m getting to that - but we have to talk about one more hormone in the body first. This is about to get really interesting.

Now, the cool part.

There seems to be some research out in the world that suggests that lower levels of estrogen may change the way that melatonin is metabolized. (2, 3, 4). More recently even stating that taking hormone replacement therapy that INCREASES the amount of estrogen in the body can support with insomnia!

I find it incredibly fascinating that some studies even talk about how levels of melatonin are found to be HIGHER when levels of estrogen are higher too… It’s really hard for me to say why exactly this is as a) I’m not an organic chemist and b) the research is still inconclusive. (5)

Anyways, this was just a really cool finding that I wanted to share with y’all so that you can do your own research & continue on your path to a more Mindful Menstruation.

Do you notice any changes in your sleep quality right before your period?