Poor sleep and the influence of hormones

A good night's sleep is essential for our well-being. Yet many of us struggle with sleep issues, ranging from difficulty falling asleep to frequently waking up during the night. It's one of the most common reasons people use our creams. Often, a hormonal imbalance is at the root of poor sleep. However, this problem is more complex than you might think, as multiple hormones, such as insulin and cortisol, in addition to progesterone, can play a role.

 

Insulin and Sleep

Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate your blood sugar levels. When you eat, your blood sugar rises, and your body produces insulin to lower your blood sugar and deliver nutrients to your cells. Fluctuations in your blood sugar throughout the day are normal, but significant fluctuations can severely disrupt your sleep. Consuming high amounts of sugar or carbohydrates right before bed can cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, followed by a rapid drop (hypo). This can wake you up at night and make it hard to fall back asleep, or cause you to sleep very lightly. In most cases, you'll feel quite tired the next day.

Tips for Balancing Insulin for Better Sleep:

Avoid heavy meals and sugary snacks right before bedtime.
Ideally, avoid them during the day if you're a problematic sleeper. Large blood sugar spikes during the day can lead to restless blood sugar levels at night. Eat sugar only as part of a meal, and not on an empty stomach (including fruit).
Choose a light, protein-rich snack if you want to eat something before bed.

Do not eat too often.
Every time you eat, your pancreas has to work to produce insulin. If you've been eating more or less all day for years, you may develop insulin resistance. Your body produces insulin, but it can no longer reach your cells. Your body starts producing even more insulin, but without result. Most of what you eat is then stored as fat, and this is a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Take Berberine for a while to help your blood sugar become healthy.

 

Cortisol and Its Impact on Sleep

Cortisol is known as the stress hormone. Normally, your cortisol levels are highest in the morning and decrease towards the evening, preparing you for sleep. However, chronic stress can lead to elevated cortisol levels, disrupting your sleep rhythm. People with high cortisol levels often wake up between 1 and 3 a.m.
 

Tips to Lower Cortisol Levels for Better Sleep:

Create a relaxing bedtime routine, such as taking a warm bath or meditating.

Limit your exposure to blue light from screens before bed. The impact of an evening on your phone, tablet, or laptop on your sleep is often underestimated. Consider buying special glasses.

Take nutritional yeast flakes before bed (and if needed, also during the day). This is the best absorbable form of vitamin B1 and calms the nervous system directly.

Is there something you can do about the stress in your life? Are there choices that can be made? Try to reduce stressful situations and thoughts through practices like mindfulness or yoga.

The Influence of Progesterone on Sleep

Progesterone is an important female hormone that plays a crucial role in the menstrual cycle and pregnancy. It also has a calming effect on the body and helps promote good sleep. Unfortunately, most women in the Western world have developed estrogen dominance and a progesterone deficiency. In addition to PMS, poor sleep can also be a symptom of this.

Progesterone and Insomnia

Progesterone has a mild calming effect and helps promote sleep. A decrease in progesterone can lead to insomnia, as the body has difficulty entering a relaxed state necessary for sleep.

Progesterone and Poor Sleep Quality

With estrogen dominance and a progesterone deficiency, women may have difficulty not only falling asleep but also maintaining deep, restorative sleep. This is because progesterone also helps regulate the sleep cycle. Low progesterone levels can lead to restless sleep and frequent waking during the night.

How to Optimize Progesterone Levels for Better Sleep:

Healthy Diet.
Eat foods rich in magnesium and vitamin B6, as these nutrients support progesterone production.

Regular Exercise
Exercise can help regulate hormonal balance and reduce stress, which can indirectly improve progesterone levels.

Stress Management
Make different choices. Reduce stress through relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises, as stress can reduce progesterone production.

Feminine Balance Therapy
Consider using this cream to counteract the decline of progesterone and restore hormonal balance. It also helps balance other hormones.

The Organ Clock and Sleep Problems

Traditional Chinese medicine believes in the organ clock, a concept that describes the 24-hour cycle of organ function in our body. According to the organ clock, there are specific times when certain organs are most active. This can explain why you wake up at specific times.
 

Difficulty falling asleep
This can be related to an imbalance in insulin or cortisol. High cortisol levels can make you feel too alert in the evening.

Waking up between 1 and 3 a.m.
This period is associated with the liver. Stress and high cortisol levels can disrupt liver function and interrupt your sleep.

Waking up between 3 and 5 a.m.
This time is associated with the lungs. This can be related to emotional stress and respiratory issues. Consider (histamine) intolerance.

Waking up between 5 and 7 a.m.
This time is associated with the large intestine. This may indicate a problem with digestion and detoxification. Take Berberine for a while to get your intestines back in order.

Frequent urination
This can indicate a problem with your kidneys or bladder, and can also be caused by elevated cortisol levels or insulin resistance.

 

Conclusion: Poor Sleep and the Influence of Hormones

Understanding the influence of insulin, cortisol, and progesterone on your sleep can help you make targeted lifestyle changes. By keeping your blood sugar levels stable, managing your cortisol levels (stress), and optimizing your hormonal balance, you can significantly improve your sleep quality. Feminine Balance Therapy can be a valuable addition to balance these hormones, ultimately contributing to better sleep and a healthier life.

Sleep well!