Did the egg or chicken come first? Does sleep impact menstruation or vice versa?
SLEEP!
Today, I stumbled across an intersectional academic piece published by “The Conversation” platform entitled “Short-sleepers are more likely to suffer from irregular and heavy periods.” This piece, authored by Kat Kennedy, a PhD student at the University of Arizona, and Sara Nowakowski at the Baylor College of Medicine, encapsulates two seemingly disparate topics I would have not expected to see together: sleep and periods.
Sleep and Periods: What is the association?
Monthly menstruation is a fundamental cornerstone to womanhood; the disruption thereof can elicit great harm to a woman’s well-being and health, in general. To establish the foundation between sleep and menstrual disturbances, I perused academic work entitled “Menstrual disturbances and its association with sleep disturbances: a systematic review.”The studies incorporated in the systemic review evaluated menstrual disturbances and their association with sleep using Buysse’s sleep health framework. This framework incorporates sleep as a “multidimensional concept”, taking account of factors such as satisfaction, alertness during waking hours, and sleep duration. Additionally, menstrual disturbances are categorized into 3 holistic categories:
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Dysmenorrhea
Abnormal bleeding
Overarchingly, having PMS, dysmenorrhea, abnormal menstrual cycle, and heavy bleeding during periods are associated with sleep disturbances in the majority of dimensions in the sleep health framework.
“Menstrual regularity and bleeding is associated with sleep duration, sleep quality, and fatigue in a community sample”
With regards to abnormal menstrual bleeding, the aforementioned study published in 2021 in the Journal of Sleep Research posited that menstruating women who sleep less than 6 hours per night tend to undergo heavier bleeding in irregular time periods.
Study Breakdown (Journal of Sleep Research Volume 31, Issue 1):
Objective: female menstrual health vs. sleep
Data Collection Methodology: n = 579 menstruating individuals (age 22-60) who participated in the SHADES (Sleep and Health Activity, Diet, Environment, and Socialization).
Survey Questions:
“How regular is your period?”
“Very regular”
“Mostly regular”
“Fairly regular”
“Not regular”
“How much bleeding do you usually experience during your period?”
“Very heavy”
“Heavy”
“Medium”
“Light”
“Very light”
Metrics Used to Assess Sleep:
Sleep Duration
Insomnia Severity Index score
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
Epworth Sleepiness Scale score
Fatigue Severity Scale score
Covariate Variables:
Age
Education
Income
Race/ethnicity
BMI
Results & Conclusion:
Few sleeping hours, poor sleep quality, lethargy, stress, and depression → menstrual aberrations
What can we take away from the conclusions of these studies? Personal takes?
Treatments must be optimized to treat insomnia. According to the American College of Physicians, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the initial treatment for insomnia, which has shown to be overarchingly effective for those living with chronic pain and depression. Medicinal approaches are also used:
Valium (Diazepam): According to the Cleveland Clinic, Valium is used to treat anxiety, seizures, muscle spasms, and twitches.
Ambien: According to WebMD, Ambien is an effective treatment option for insomnia.
Overarchingly, these medications are used to treat sleep disorders but have resultant side effects.
One-size-fits-all approaches are simply unfitting, as the needs and preferences of all women are unique and individual. Perhaps, it would be best to start from the very basics, away from all the big-name therapies and jargony medications. Meditation, breathing exercises, and other mindfulness exercises are ultimately imperative to ultimately break the incessant, intolerable cycle of wakefulness that plagues the fundamental cornerstone of every woman’s existence.
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