Switch off the lights and switch off your stress! Our top tips to improve your sleep and PCOS symptoms.
Stress is an invisible factor affecting modern-day living and is strongly associated with many disease pathogenesis, including polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in women. Stress is also a known factor in menstrual dysfunction like hypothalamic amenorrhea, so it makes sense that as part of any approach when improving either our female health or, more specifically, PCOS, we need to improve our ability to manage stress. This is why a focus on correct diet and exercise are key components of improving conditions like PCOS as exercise intervention, for example, has been associated with cognitive improvement and stress resilience in humans.
Women with PCOS are much more likely to suffer from a variety of sleep disturbances, including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnoea. Poor sleep also increases your risk of insulin resistance and obesity as well as type 2 diabetes and can lead to a vicious cycle of more stress and even worse sleep. So one of the main areas we can target to improve our stress levels should be our sleep.
1. Don’t have any caffeine after 12pm. It sounds harsh, but given the half-life of caffeine is around 6 hours, if you are someone who struggles to sleep, you want as little caffeine in your system when you are getting into bed.
2. Alcohol is not your friend. Alcohol, while helping you to fall asleep quicker, actually causes your sleep to become disrupted and is likely to reduce your sleep quality as a result. Removing alcohol will also help reduce added calories in your diet, so it may help with your weight loss goals (which can, in turn, improve sleep and PCOS symptoms).
3. Establish a relaxing bedtime routine, such as taking a bubble bath, reading a book and turning down the lights. We also want to maintain a regular bedtime routine; our bodies like consistency here so I often recommend setting a bedtime reminder on your phone, giving you the heads up when to start unwinding so that you can try and aim to be in bed roughly the same time each evening.
4. Make sure your bedroom is completely dark when you go to sleep, take all electronics out of your bedroom, and think about investing in some blackout curtains if you haven’t already.
5. If you are still struggling, try some guided meditation for sleep. There are many guided meditation apps on offer.
Looking to manage your PCOS and get a better nights sleep? Sign up to our 12 Week PCOS Treatment Programme to learn everything you need to know about PCOS.