Fatigue and cramps causing trouble during periods? Here’s how sleeping more can help!

Getting a good night’s sleep has become increasingly difficult, more so with rising stress and unhealthy lifestyle habits. Adequate and quality sleep is important to maintain overall health and well-being. While lack of sleep not only shows up on your skin and eyes, it also slows down the functioning of your body.

According to Dr Astha Dayal, consultant gynaecologist and obstetrics at Meddo, “Sleep is actually crucial for normal body functions, metabolism, immunity, growth, appetite and weight control, mental, physical and hormonal health.” 

Not only this, sleep has an impact on your menstrual cycle too

Before aunt Flo quite literally hits every month, you might experience various psychological and physical symptoms. You could feel drained and low in energy, and sometimes might just want to crawl back to bed and sleep for a week! Apart from this, headaches, stomach cramps, acne, food cravings, mood swings, and tender, swollen breasts are a few other signs and symptoms that you might observe. Now, what can you do to deal with these symptoms, if you’re fatigued in the first place?

Well, Dr Dayal says, “The onset of the menstrual cycle every month is a time of progesterone dominance, which causes PMS, fatigue, mood swings, bloating and discomfort, which could trouble your sleep cycle.” 

But guess what’s the key to managing these symptoms? More sleep! 

“Managing better sleep during periods can help alleviate the painful cramps, improve your mood, reduce fatigue and discomfort, and make the period cycle more comfortable.” 

That means ladies, sleeping more is the key to tackle almost all menstrual problems. In fact, some women might want to sleep more than normal during their menstrual cycle. But unfortunately, even though we know that getting a good night’s sleep is important for our health, there are certain women who experience disturbed sleep cycles during this time. And poor sleep may cause excessive sleepiness and fatigue around this time. So, what can you do to improve your sleep, and to deal better with your period problems?

Here are some tips that can help:

1. Being active and exercising regularly throughout the month is a good idea. Light exercise and stretches during your period will improve the chances of better sleep, says Dr Dayal. 
2. Be sure to cut down on caffeine and alcohol at this time.
3. In the run-up to this time, aim to get plenty of rest and sleep.
4. Avoid screen exposure a couple of hours before sleep time, and keep your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet, suggests Dr Dayal. 
5. You can also try relaxation techniques like meditation, a warm shower, and sleeping in a fetal position. They also help in improving the quality of your sleep during periods, according to Dr Dayal. 

So yes ladies, you need more sleep during your periods!