It’s well known that the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin plays a key role in sleep. But other hormones, including the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone, can also affect our sleep — and potentially even our dreams.
In particular, people may notice differences in the quality of their sleep and the way they dream at different stages of their menstrual cycle, experts told Live Science. Here’s how the menstrual cycle might affect sleep and dreaming.
Related: Does melatonin work?
How the menstrual cycle affects sleep and dreams
Sleep is broken down into stages, broadly known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. People dream during REM sleep, which usually begins about 90 minutes after a person falls asleep, said Dr. Tania Adib (opens in new tab), a consultant gynecologist at The Lister Hospital in the U.K.
NREM sleep is broken up into four stages: easily disturbed light sleep, a deeper intermediate sleep, and two stages of deep sleep, which occurs just before REM sleep, according to the Mayo Clinic (opens in new tab). Deep sleep is the most restorative and where the body and brain have time to repair.
Estrogen and progesterone can affect how much time people spend in REM and NREM sleep and whether they wake up often while dreaming.
“There are lots of estrogen and progesterone receptors in the parts of the brain that regulate sleep, and because the levels of these hormones change during the menstrual cycle, it means our sleep also varies across the month,” said Dr. Zoe Schaedel (opens in new tab), co-founder of Myla Health, a private clinic for women experiencing menopause, perimenopause and reproductive health issues in England.
The menstrual cycle has four stages: menses (when the period occurs), the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase, according to the Cleveland Clinic (opens in new tab). The menstrual cycle “begins” on the first day of a period. Prior to ovulation, which occurs roughly around day 14, estrogen levels rise, Schaedel told Live Science. “Sleep tends to be better-quality in this phase, known as the follicular or proliferative phase.”
After ovulation, progesterone levels then begin to rise and eventually overtake estrogen; if a pregnancy doesn’t occur, the levels of both hormones drop in the lead-up to menstration. “This is known as the ‘luteal phase’ and is where we see changes in the structure of sleep,” Schaedel said.
Shifting progesterone levels during the luteal phase…
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