YOUR FOUR SEASONS
HORMONAL CHANGES CAN wreak havoc on sleep. In turn, sleep deprivation can affect hormone levels. Some women struggle with sleepless nights leading up to their period, while others feel fatigued when their period is over.
‘Female sleep problems are linked heavily to hormone levels which fluctuate throughout a women’s monthly cycle and can become imbalanced,’ says award-winning private GP and menopause specialist Dr Sumi Soori (drsumi.com), who has teamed up with mattress experts Simba. ‘By tracking your menstrual cycle it may be possible to improve your sleep just with the awareness of what is happening to your body.’
Oestrogen, progesterone, cortisol and melatonin are the main hormones that affect sleep. At different times of your cycle, you are going to feel differently both physically and emotionally, which will then impact your quality of sleep.
‘When you sleep well, it means that when you wake up your body is releasing the appropriate amount of cortisol, which then releases the appropriate amount of oestrogen and progesterone. But when you don’t sleep well, you don’t have the right balance of
