Clinically reviewed by: Chevon Rariy

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Sleep isn’t just downtime. Prioritizing restorative sleep is one of the most powerful, and overlooked, tools we have for stabilizing hormonal rhythms, supporting metabolic health, and allowing the body to recalibrate. Women are more likely than men to suffer from sleep disorders like insomnia and poor sleep quality, which means women need more sleep than men simply to recover from disrupted rest.

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Good sleep can improve your overall health and well-being — both now and in the long run. It is essential for managing chronic health conditions and supporting your body, especially through big transitions like perimenopause and menopause. Below, we break down how sleep and hormones are related and how you can achieve consistent, uninterrupted sleep. 

The sleep-hormone connection

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Two major hormones, estrogen and progesterone, help support healthy sleep.  Estrogen calms the brain and keeps body temperature steady. Progesterone helps you reach deeper, more restorative sleep. When these levels shift throughout the menstrual cycle or during perimenopause and menopause, sleep can become fragmented. During perimenopause, night sweats, hot flashes, and restlessness are very common. 

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Sleep also impacts hormones that control your mood, appetite, metabolism, and reproductive health. As you sleep, your endocrine system recalibrates daily hormone rhythms — such as cortisol, growth hormone, and appetite-regulating hormones — supporting metabolic health, stress response, and overall homeostasis. When sleep is cut short, or non-restorative, this balance is thrown off.

Here’s how:

• Melatonin: Known as the “sleep hormone,” melatonin is created in response to darkness. It regulates your sleep-wake cycle and keeps you asleep at night. Too little sleep or too much screen time before bed can lower melatonin levels, making it harder to get deep, restful sleep. While over the counter melatonin may be helpful for some in specific, short-term situations, it shouldn’t be used to replace your body’s own melatonin production—high or inconsistent doses can actually disrupt your natural circadian signaling, impair sleep architecture, and may even reduce your body’s ability to regulate its own hormone rhythms over time.
• Growth hormone: Released during deep sleep (especially early in the night) growth hormone repairs tissues, builds muscle, and supports healing. Without enough deep sleep, your body’s ability to repair itself slows.
• Cortisol: Often called the stress hormone, cortisol is important for metabolism, immune function, and stress response. It’s lowest early in the night then rises towards the morning to help you wake up. Poor sleep can cause high cortisol, which can leave you feeling anxious, irritable, and make it even harder to fall asleep. Cortisol and the menstrual cycle also influence each other — when stress raises cortisol, it can disrupt ovulation and cause irregular or missed periods. Hormonal changes across the cycle can also impact the body’s stress response, which may affect both cortisol levels and sleep quality.
• Leptin and Ghrelin: These hormones work together to control appetite. Sleep boosts leptin (reducing hunger) and decreases ghrelin (reducing your desire to eat). Lack of sleep can cause ghrelin to rise and leptin to fall, making you hungrier and more likely to crave high-calorie foods. 
• Insulin: This hormone helps regulate blood glucose (sugar) levels. Sleep helps your body stay sensitive to insulin, while chronic sleep deprivation can cause insulin resistance, which increases risk for Type 2 diabetes. 
• Prolactin: Important for immune function, metabolism, and reproductive health, prolactin is also affected by poor sleep.

In short: sleep deprivation creates a ripple effect across all your body’s hormones. 

What better sleep can offer

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When you sleep well, your hormones stay in sync, which supports steady energy, emotional well-being, metabolism, repair, and reproductive health. If you’re struggling with sleep, small changes to lifestyle and daily habits can make a big difference and can be a good place to start. 

However, if poor sleep continues, or you suspect an underlying cause such as anxiety, hormonal imbalance, or perimenopause, talk with your healthcare provider. At Visana, we’ll work with you to identify the root cause of your sleep problems and connect the dots between your symptoms, lifestyle, and goals to find the right course of action. Book an appointment today to get thoughtful, thorough attention from an expert women’s health provider who listens. We’ll build you a personalized care plan so you can get better sleep to support your well-being.

How to achieve consistent, restorative sleep 

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1. Practice healthy sleep habits:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
• Create a relaxing bedtime routine, such as reading, stretching, or deep breathing before bed. 
• Limit caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and heavy meals in the evening.
• Stay active during the day to promote better sleep at night. Try to avoid vigorous workouts close to bedtime.
• Manage stress through mindfulness techniques like journaling or deep breathing before bed. For persistent issues, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, a program that helps address negative thoughts and behaviors that affect sleep, might be helpful.

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2. Optimize your sleep environment

• Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, and cool (between 60 and 67℉).
• Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillows to ensure your comfort.
• Turn off all devices an hour before bed to protect melatonin production.

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3. Explore supplements 

• Herbal supplements like chamomile, valerian root, or L-Theanine can help you relax. Chamomile can be consumed as tea or as 200-400 mg supplements. Valerian root should be taken 30 minutes to two hours before bed as 300-600 mg supplements and L-Theanine should be taken as 100-200 mg supplements before bed.
• Magnesium glycinate supplements can help promote better sleep by promoting melatonin production and relaxing muscles. Common doses range from 200-400 mg before bed.
• Melatonin supplements can be effective but only for short-term use, such as jet-lag or shift work. Typically a dose of 0.5-5 mg 30 minutes to an hour before bed is sufficient. Longer term use and higher doses can have the opposite effect disrupt your natural circadian signaling.

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Talk to your doctor before adding supplements to ensure they’re right for you. If you continue to struggle with persistent insomnia, talk to a doctor about prescription medications that can help. 

Prioritizing sleep is essential

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Good sleep should never feel out of reach. Sleep is a powerful hormone regulator and prioritizing good sleep is one of the best ways to support your body’s balance, resilience, and overall health. Even small, consistent adjustments to your sleep routine can meaningfully support your mood, energy, and hormonal balance — giving your body the foundation it needs to function at its best.

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