4 Ways Your Period Messes With Your Sleep and What to Do About It

Some people can tell their periods are coming by way of a few extra zits, uncomfortably tight pants or randomly crying at the sight of a kitten. For others, the harbinger could be wonky zzzs.

Though it might seem surprising, menstruation and sleep can be closely connected.

To have a period, you must go through a series of hormonal fluctuations, explains Nilong Vyas, MD, a sleep specialist and member of the SleepFoundation.org medical review panel. "It is those hormonal fluctuations that can cause insomnia or sleep disturbances in the days leading up to menstruation."

These hormone shifts most often manifest as insomnia before your period. However, it's possible for your cycle to affect your sleep in other ways too. Here's what can happen, plus tips for snoozing more soundly.

Difficulty falling or staying asleep is common before your period, and stronger premenstrual symptoms (like cramps) are typically associated with worse insomnia.

In fact, 7 out of 10 people with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) — a severe form of PMS — report sleep problems during this time, per the Office on Women's Health.

As levels of the hormone progesterone drop right before your period, so do levels of the sleep-regulating hormone GABA, Dr Vyas explains. "The decreased activation of GABA receptors impacts sleep," she adds.

The rise in progesterone that occurs right after ovulation can cause your resting body temperature to rise by up to 1 degree — and stay that way until your period comes along, according to the National Library of Medicine.

This measurable change can be helpful if you're tracking your most fertile days to try to get pregnant, but not so much if you're trying to get a good night's rest. Warmer temps can cause you to wake more often, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Sleeping a lot before your period — or at least, ‌wishing‌ you could sleep a lot — isn't all that unusual.

"Hormonal fluctuations are at the root cause of the fatigue," Dr. Vyas says. "In addition, the body is building up the uterine wall to ready itself for pregnancy, so a lot of energy is spent in that process as well."

And if you're not getting the best sleep at night, hey — it would make sense that you feel kind of groggy during the day.

Again, fluctuating levels of the hormone progesterone may be to blame, Dr. Vyas says: "It impacts REM sleep, which is the dreaming stage of sleep."

While progesterone won't actually cause you to have more intense dreams, it makes your REM sleep period shorter and can cause more frequent waking throughout the night.

"Because of the wakeful states, many may remember their dreams more and it may seem as though the dreams are more vivid," Dr. Vyas explains.

Pregnancy is pretty notorious for messing with sleep, and while the disruptions tend to worsen as you get closer to your due date, they can strike early on as well.

Again, shifting hormones can play a big role, Dr. Vyas says. (Are you surprised?)

The fact that early pregnancy is so tiring might be at play too: "Exhaustion without relief can cause a paradoxical overtiredness that can make going to sleep at bedtime challenging for many pregnant women," Dr. Vyas says.

You're probably getting tired of the hearing about the importance of healthy sleep habits by now, but it really is the best defense against sleep problems, Dr. Vyas says.

If you suspect that exhaustion is actually making it harder for you to nod off, try a short midday nap or consider bumping up bedtime. (And if you haven't confirmed that you're pregnant, take a pregnancy test!)