71: Sleeping Problems and PCOS: Insomnia, struggling to get to sleep, struggling to stay asleep and what you can do about it

The PCOS Nutritionist Podcast

Sleep is one of those universal foundations of our health. If you’re not prioritising that, it can really negate all of the work you're putting in in other aspects of your healthy lifestyle, like nutrition, exercise and supplementation. If we don’t have good sleep, all of the pillars of our health crumble.

With lockdowns happening (we’re currently in a short one to ensure we don’t have a massive resurgence of COVID), I find that’s not only a great time to learn more about your health but for me, it’s an opportunity for me to really hone in on my sleep. No early morning gym sessions, no post-work catch ups with friends, no packed social calendar, so no excuses when it comes to focusing on sleep.

But sleep isn’t as simple as just making sure you’re in bed for 8hrs. It’s hard to function when you feel like hot trash as it is, then add COVID lockdowns and it’s a recipe for stress! In this week’s episode of The PCOS Nutritionist Podcast, we’re once again diving into sleep but in this episode we’re covering all things insomnia, premenstrual insomnia, struggling to get to sleep and struggling to stay asleep. I see these quite a lot in the women I work with in The PCOS Protocol - wanting to improve their sleep but struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep. I know how you feel, my partner Scott is out like a light seconds after his head hits the pillow but I don’t have as much luck.

So if you’re over lying in bed trying your hardest to get to sleep (and not having much luck) or you find yourself awake at 2am wide awake and you’re like “omg! Why is my body doing this!? I’m going to be so tired tomorrow!” then you need to listen to this. Because there’s nothing worse than lying in bed not being able to sleep - whether its when you’re heading to bed or in the middle of the night - knowing that you’re going to feel like absolute trash in the morning but you. just. can’t. sleep.

So, regardless of your PCOS root cause, this one’s for you! You might even want to listen to this while you prep your dinner in advance of your wind-down routine!

This episode is for you if:

• You find your ability to sleep changes with your cycle
• You struggle with insomnia
• You’re struggling to get to sleep at night
• You find yourself waking up in the middle of night
• You often find yourself waking up around 2/3am many nights
• You want some more information on what you can do for a better night’s sleep

Some things we cover in this episode:

• The interaction between your stress hormones and your sleep hormones
• Using light too late into the evening - and not just blue light either
• Insulin, blood glucose and sleep
• PMS, PMDD and sleep
• Tracking patterns of your cycle and your sleep
• Why sleeping pills and alcohol aren’t the answer to insomnia.

Resources and References:

• Podcast Episode 36: Can lack of sleep have a negative effect on my PCOS symptoms?
• Podcast Episode 55: How to know if you have to break up with caffeine (in my case, again)
• Podcast Episode 65: What booze is really doing to your PCOS symptoms (and how to balance this over the festive season)
• Podcast Episode 68: All about Progesterone: why it may be low, why it’s important and how to improve your levels with Dr. Samina Mitha
• 70: Why you’re still waking up feeling like hot trash after a good nights’ sleep
• Book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker