What's the Deal with Being So Sleepy On Your Period?

YAWN! It is a day or two before Eve’s Curse comes crashing down on you and you are quickly morphing into Sleepy Smurf. For most women, being sleepy on your period is due to one of two reasons: restless sleep or bad food choices. For a small number, the reason is anemia. Find out which category you fall in and fix it fast!

Tossing and Turning in Bed (and we don’t mean in the good way)

All of those premenstrual gears are churning and you may be getting sleep, but just not good sleep. While you’re snoozing the recommended seven and a half hours per night, you’re waking up due to cramping, heading to the bathroom for change of the guard, or popping some Pamprin. This isn’t good, deep sleep; instead it’s fragmented or interrupted sleep. Thus, you drag into work the next morning like a zombie after an all-nighter.

How do you fix it? The best way to fight restless nights is to add activities to your day like exercise and deep breathing or stretching. Exercising for 30 minutes or more (the last thing anyone wants to do with Flo, we know) reduces PMS and promotes deep sleep. Deep sleep is restorative, giving you that “bounce out of bed” happy feeling. A side benefit of deep sleep is a reduction in fat. The surest way to relax into sleep is with deep breathing or some Yoga Nidra. These are great habits to keep while you are off your cycle too!

Blame the Mac-N-Cheese…and the Ice Cream…and the Cookies…

Your indulgence into the wide-world of comfort food is taking its toll and it is actually your digestion making you feel overtired and sluggish. It’s understandable, this is the time every month you halt your healthy, kale-and-chia diet for carb-laden, rich foods to give you a temporary, happy feeling. It is emotional eating, and there is nothing wrong with a small, moderate bit of it. However, too much and your digestion gets overloaded. Your body retaliates by making you sleepy so it can put all of its energy into digestion. You wake up the next morning still tired. What do you do – head out for a venti extra caffeinated anything and a chocolate croissant, and the cycle continues.

Fixing this issue is surprisingly easy. Eat small, frequent meals during the day to boost energy levels. Eat more protein to balance blood sugar levels to avoid the 3 pm crash. While a glass (or three) of vino sounds just like what the doctor ordered, pass on alcohol during your period because it actually aggravates progesterone levels which increase sleepiness and fatigue.

Anemia

Iron-deficiency anemia is basically a lack of iron in the blood. If you are feeling beyond exhausted during your period and nearly all of the time before or after it, you maybe be anemic. Very heavy periods can be a potential clue, as can extreme weakness and paleness.

If you think you may be anemic, head over to your doctor for a quick blood test. If you are anemic, you will be encouraged to eat iron rich foods, and possibly prescribed an iron supplement.

No matter what turns you into Rip Van Winkle, add a few helpful hints and get your oomph back!