Why You May Have Insomnia Right Before Your Period
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Feel miserable and exhausted for days before your period starts each month? A new study suggests that fluctuations in sleep and mood may be connected to menstrual cycles.
For the study, scientists asked 51 healthy women ranging in age from 18 to 35 to wear sleep trackers and complete daily diaries logging their sleep and emotions over the course of two menstrual cycles.
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“I think that many women will say that the mood and sleep-related findings are not surprising at all. Some may even feel validated that their experiences have been documented scientifically,” says lead study author Jessica Meers, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who is board-certified in sleep medicine.
Poor Sleep Limits Positive Emotions
What’s more surprising is the link between sleep disruption and worsening mood during the perimenstrual phase, Dr. Meers says. “So often, we hear how negative mood is impacted by sleep and menstrual problems. We don’t often think about how it may be that we are actually experiencing fewer positive emotions rather than an increase in negative emotions when we don’t get enough sleep.”
While the study wasn’t designed to determine why changes in sleep or mood might be linked to menstrual cycles, it’s possible that rapid increases in the reproductive hormone progesterone before monthly periods might explain some of these connections, Meers says. Higher progesterone levels can produce subtle increases in body temperature that can disrupt sleep.
“These changes in body temperature may not be enough to actually feel, but could be just enough to cause some sleep disruption,” Meers says. “When combined with other symptoms like menstrual pain, bloating, etc., this sets the stage for noticeable changes in sleep, and this study suggests that these sleep changes then go on to have downstream effects on positive emotion.”
Beyond its small size, one limitation of the study is that none of the participants used hormonal contraceptives.
“For those on hormonal birth control, there may be less risk of mood and sleep changes, because hormonal birth control keeps your hormones relatively stable, although certainly many women still experience some mood and sleep changes even with hormonal treatments,” says Laura Payne, PhD, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital and assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, who wasn’t involved in the new study.
How to Improve Sleep and Mood Around Your Monthly Cycle
Overall, however, the study findings confirm what many women of reproductive age experience during their menstrual cycles, Dr. Payne says.
There is a lot women can do to help offset period insomnia and mood changes around their cycles, especially if they focus on habits to support what’s known as good sleep hygiene throughout the month and not just during the perimenstrual phase of their cycles, Payne says.
Sleep hygiene, or routines and behaviors that promote good sleep, can include setting a regular time to wake up and go to sleep every day — even on weekends — and making sure that time in bed is just for sleep and sex and not a place to lounge or work during waking hours, Payne advises.
It also helps to cut back on caffeine, and avoid it after lunch, Payne says. Limiting or avoiding alcohol helps, too — especially during the perimenstrual phase. “Alcohol use not only causes sleep disruption, but it also has a direct impact on estrogen, which can exacerbate changes in the already shifting hormones during this phase,” Payne says.
Paying extra attention to daily routines during the perimenstrual phase can also minimize the potential for sleep disruptions to negatively impact mental health, Payne adds. Adding more mood-boosting activities during this time of the month, whether it’s more time with good friends, a motivational workout, or just some time outside may make a difference.
Knowing there’s a valid reason behind any low moods at this time of the month can also make things easier. “It can be helpful just to know that this phase of the menstrual cycle can be challenging, and then use that information to help decrease the power and intensity of negative thoughts associated with low mood,” Payne says.
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