We’ve all had difficult periods to deal with. From the constant adjustment of our pads to the feeling of cramping, the list is endless when we talk about how a period can cause discomfort. But, have you ever felt like you can’t sleep while you’re on your period?
Read on to know more!
What Is Period Insomnia?
Period insomnia is sleep-related issues that start several days before your period and it is generally associated with PMS. Scientists have not been able to pinpoint the major reason as to why you experience insomnia before periods or even during it, one of the underlying reasons that this can happen is because of the hormonal fluctuations that accompany a menstrual cycle.
Effect Of Hormones On Sleep
The hormones progesterone and estrogen both affect the way we sleep.
Progesterone has a calming function which soothes you and makes you feel relaxed. When the progesterone levels fall in your body, it could lead to varied effects on sleep.
Estrogen on the other hand lowers your body temperature, helping you fall asleep fast. Again, when estrogen levels in your body fall, this can have drastic effects on your sleep.
Other Factors Affecting Your Sleep
Experiencing insomnia during periods and even after is quite common due to the hormonal changes in the body. However, there can be several other factors that might be affecting your sleep patterns.
- Anxiety: When PMS-ing, some women also tend to feel more stressed and anxious. Anxiety is known to cause distress in the sleep cycle and this could also be an underlying reason as to why you’re not sleeping well while you’re on your period.
- Lifestyle: Along with hormones, periods and other effects of PMS, your lifestyle is the one factor which is common in it all. What you eat, what time you sleep, your daily habits, general stress levels, etc have a huge role to play.
- Other Factors: You might also be stressing yourself out due to small and mundane things like the concern that you might stain your bed or your favourite pair of jeans or that lovely white dress that you’ve been planning on wearing for a while. While this is a thought that passes through most of our minds, it is important to remember that staining something is not the end. In fact, you can easily wash the blood stains off.
How Can You Improve Your Sleep?
There are a few different things that you can try in order to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Sleep Hygiene: One of the most important things that we can do in order to improve the quality of our sleep is to simply regulate our sleep and build a sleep habit. This includes small changes in our lives such as sleeping at the same time every day, waking up at the same time daily, setting a routine for ourselves. Small habits like these improve not only the quality of sleep but also help you formulate healthy habits.
- Pain Medication: If you’re someone who suffers from pain during their PMS time, one of the things that you can try out is pain medication. If your pain is a cause of poor sleep, it can help you get a good night's rest. As always, make sure you’re consulting a medical practitioner before you decide to pop a painkiller.
- Menstrual Products: If you’re concerned about leaking and staining your sheets try testing out other products such as a menstrual cup or a menstrual disc. Designed to be inserted into the vagina to collect blood, these products can help ease your tension about staining and relieve you from checking for leakage every couple of hours.
- Lay Down A Towel: Another layer of protection would be to lay a towel down. This acts as extra protection and will help ease your mind as you sleep.
Periods are a difficult time as it is, and don't we know it!
Adding to that is the fact that your sleep gets disturbed. This can obviously be frustrating and annoying. Try out the above tips and hacks to improve the quality of your sleep.
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✍️ This article was curated by Sarah Abraham
