Hormone imbalance definitely plays a role in sleep cycles!

I used to have a wonderful version of sleep dysfunction. In college, some days I could completely skip a night of sleep, and actually had excess energy the next day. Didn't sleep, but didn't need it.

But things didn't stay that way, unfortunately. I became progressively lethargic, even though I've never been a sedentary person. I fall asleep anytime I'm sitting still and not metally active...I fall asleep probably 10 times during my 20 minute bus ride every day, and I fall asleep watching TV. I'm out the second my head hits the pillow at night- it never takes more than 10 minutes- but I don't stay asleep. I have vivid dreams and I wake suddenly, numerous times per night.

I'm sure that this sleep dysfunction really makes my symptoms (and my overall health) worse, but so far I haven't found a doctor that is even willing to think for a second that I have real sleep problems and they might be related to PCOS. Frustrating!

I suffer with insomnia too and I have PCOS. Could these two be connected???Really???

lovechicagobears wrote: »

Have you had your progesterone levels tested? Mine were close to 0, as in 0.1.

I'm taking progesterone drops now, and not only do I not feel PMS-y every day anymore, I fall asleep much faster (probably because I don't have the anxiety/depression that comes with low progesterone levels).

I was actually just reading some info on how low progesterone can cause sleep problems and once people got them straightened out the sleep problems went away.

I am on Vitex right now to get my progesterone level higher over the long run and progesterone cream for the second half of my cycle to get my ovaries to realize that's what they need. I havent slept better in years since i started using Vitex. It is amazing!

So I do put some stock in low progesterone, which is extremely common with PCOS, as being a reason for the lack of sleep in pcos women.

Nornas42 - Also, as women, we store our hormones in fat. So when you are burning a lot of fat, you are dumping a lot of excess hormones back into your overall system to be processed rather quickly. That could be why you are having similar effects when working out.

Pland54 - it is eerie - your falling asleep when not mentally active sounds a lot like my sufferings. I have an added component - which I've jokingly called "Food Narcolepsy" because every time I eat, regardless of what I eat, if I'm not up and moving or driving or doing something I'm passionate about, I'm passing out/nodding off. What's worse is that 90% of the time I don't feel it coming on, I just wake up, and that's when I realize it. It is scary. Switching my metformin to first thing in the morning has helped with it being excessive then, and inositol helps whenever my first late morning/early afternoon crash hits, but I don't know what any of this might actually be helping. :-S

Kymme80 - I switched to taking my Metformin with my first meal of the day (it was originally suggested at supper), and I have had lovely alertness as a side effect and no complications with the switch...something to consider!


That being said, I also have massive sleep problems, though not exactly insomnia. I work an early job (have to be at work at 7 am), and my body won't naturally fall asleep before midnight. Then, I can't wake up. According to my FitBit, I am only sleeping 3.5-4.5 hours per night restfully. My progesterone used to be so low that it was almost immeasurable, but my overall hormone levels are finally coming into balance, as per my endocrinologist's bloodwork shows.

I was previously diagnosed with Sleep Apnea before my machine's levels stopped functioning for me properly and my supply company refused to continue adjusting my levels without the doctor prescribing it, and the doctor wanted another sleep study, which I couldn't afford, before adjusting things again. My machine got to the point it was preventing me from sleeping. It was awful. So I stopped using it.

I use some other tools these days, but I still have quite a bit of problems with sleep quality, much less getting to bed early enough to get any sleep. Melatonin never worked for me. Ambien made me a dangerous mess and didn't really work. L-Theanine had a moderate success rate sometimes, but is very cost prohibitive. Inositol is said to have a possibility in this area, but I take it during the day, and it perks me up almost instantly. I haven't been taking it long enough to see a impact in sleep yet.

I sleep fine when I'm exhausted hitting the mattress and I don't have to get up early (i.e. weekends), but I know with hypothyroid, this type of sleep schism is bad for regulating that aspect.

I look forward to following further discussion on this topic, because there are many, many things I'd be willing to do if it truly meant falling asleep at a decent hour (I can be in deep sleep in less than ten minutes, which I was told was an aspect of irregular sleep patterns related to apnea, but now I'm truly thinking this is far more PCOS related than apnea related, as so many of my problems with my machine peaked after I lost a large bit of weight (50+ pounds)...and sleeping restfully.

Wow this thread has blown my mind. I generally fall asleep quickly but have numerous extremely vivid dreams each night. I am on Metformin and I ran out of my script a few weeks ago and thinking back, the week I didn't have the met, I slept heaps better. I'm struggling BIG TIME during the day atm. I could literally fall asleep in a second, anywhere. I have never had my progesterone levels checked but maybe I should. Craziness!!

I have very vivid (often violent) dreams, as well I too can control them to a certain extent. I found if I made them less traumatic before I wake up that I'm less disturbed by them....I just thought it was a skill learned from having so many horrid dreams...lol