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For women who are trying to conceive, skipping out on your eight hours of sleep could have a major impact on whether or not you can conceive. Although most people need seven to nine hours of sleep each night to function well the next day, the National Sleep Foundation's (NSF) 1998 Women and Sleep Poll found that the average woman aged 30-60 sleeps only six hours and forty-one minutes during the work week. Without adequate sleep, you cannot achieve optimal health and wellness. Moreover, one of your body’s most important systems, the endocrine system, will start to malfunction. When your endocrine system malfunctions, your ability to conceive can decrease drastically. Your endocrine system plays one of the most important roles in terms of regulating ovulation.

Because the endocrine system controls all of the hormones in your body, women are adversely impacted when it fails to produce the necessary hormones such as leptin, which is required for regulating your appetite and weight. In addition, leptin also plays an important role in female fertility. If you are not sleeping adequately, your leptin levels will tend to decrease, which may cause irregular ovulation; as well as, irregular or decreased menstrual cycles.

Dr. Randy Morris, a reproduction and infertility doctor located in Chicago, cites the following study: Researchers in Boston studied 14 female athletes who had stopped their menstrual cycle five years prior to the study. Their body fat was 40 percent less than the average woman. Eight of these women were given leptin, while the remaining women acted as controls. After just three months of treatment, women who received leptin supplements resumed their menstrual cycle and their ovaries began to function normally. Leptin also improved bone density bone markers in their blood. Conversely, there were no changes found in the menstrual cycle or bone density bone markers of the control group. Needless to say, this study proves that women who are trying to conceive must ensure that they have adequate leptin levels-ideally by getting the proper amount of sleep.

If you are having problems conceiving, speak with your OB/GYN and put yourself on a sleep regimen to restore your endocrine system. The following tips should be helpful in getting you back to sleeping like a baby: (1) a good sleep regimen starts with you going to bed by 10:00 PM, (2) don’t snack on sugary foods before bedtime because it raises your blood sugar
level, which can inhibit sleep, (3) make sure your room is cool and below 70 degrees,
(4) stop watching mood altering television programs, (5) try to avoid situations and people who upset you, (6) get into a good cardiovascular work-out routine, which will regulate your adrenal glands. Insomniacs have a significant higher level of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenocorticotropic (ACTH), and (7) avoid consuming caffeine after 12:00 PM.

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References:

Morris, Randy S. MD. (June 2008). Could Leptin be the Next Fertility Medication. IVF1. Retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.ivf1.com/leptin/

(n.d.) Women and Sleep. National Sleep Foundation. Retrieved June 25, 2009, from
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/women-and-sleep