How Sleep Increases Fertility

I recommend women in their prime childbearing years (25 to 35) get 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep every night during a work week. The National Sleep Foundation has found through studies that sleep has a powerful influence on a woman’s reproductive hormonal system.

Sleep Deprivation: BMI – Mood – Stress

Sleep deprivation adversely affects your BMI, your mood, and your stress level. Your Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) level is directly affected by lack of sleep. Your FSH level should ideally be at its highest level just before you ovulate.

Women averaging 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night had a 20 percent higher FSH level than those who go 6 or fewer hours – regardless of age, BMI, mood, or stress level.

Sleep and BMI

A healthy adult Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 18.5 and 24.9. Look: A 2016 review of studies shows that not getting enough sleep leads women to consume an average of 385 more calories the next day.

Here’s the real story about women who don’t get enough sleep.

• They gain weight
• The make less healthy food choices
• They eat foods higher in fat
• They eat low protein foods

Over a five year period, women can gain 2.1 BMI points for every hour of sleep they lose. Why is this important? A two pound weight gain can easily throw a woman off of her healthy BMI.

The takeaway. Sleep is an important moderator of neuroendocrine function and glucose metabolism. Sleep loss alters metabolic and endocrine alterations.

Sleep and Mood

Your quantity and quality of nightly sleep is directly connected with your mood when you wake. It can’t be emphasized enough, chronic insomnia increases the risk of developing a mood disorder – especially depression and/or anxiety.

Sleep-related mood disorders can be self-corrected through a variety of methods.

• Improved sleep habits
• Behavioral interventions
• Sleep assessments
• Mood disorder assessments

It’s pretty common to realize that once you’ve had a good night’s sleep, your mood becomes stabilized throughout the next day.

A Harvard Sleep Study confirms that sleep deprivation has a significant adverse effect on one’s mood. University of Pennsylvania researchers found that limiting sleep to 4.5 hours per night for one week causes:

• Stress
• Anger
• Sadness
• Mental exhaustion

These affects make it difficult to get to sleep and rest comfortably because you are awake and alert. These abnormally exaggerated responses to stress make one suffer from sleep deprivation.

Sleep and Stress

Stress keeps us alert and energetic. Although stress is an innate force helping us to perform at top level in our daily activities, too much tension and anxiety can cause a person to experience sleep deprivation. Stress is a natural response to daily life.

You must manage your stress to enhance your reproductive health and overall well-being. The amount of stress a woman experiences while undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment can be determinative of pregnancy success or failure.

That’s not all. Research has shown that stress can reduce your chances of conceiving through IVF. Stress has been linked to an egg’s ability to be fertilized and an embryo’s ability to implant in a woman’s uterine lining. Studies have shown that women undergoing IVF with anxiety had fewer eggs retrieved and fewer embryos implanting successfully.

Schedule Your Consultation With Dr. Zhang

To schedule your initial consultation with Dr. John Zhang at New Hope Fertility NYC, click the icon below – or – call 917.525.5496.