INSOMNIA is such a frustrating symptom to have during PMS, because on top of feeling bloated, cranky, and tired, you can’t sleep!

    During your luteal phase, the days leading up to your period, you have a big surge and then decline in the concentration of estrogen and progesterone. That shouldn’t cause you any symptoms. The real issue comes when you have too much estrogen and not enough progesterone to keep this all balanced — and is when PMS and insomnia get funky.

    This also becomes a bigger problem after age 35. Every woman begins the slow 10-to-15-year journey of perimenopause around that age. During this time, production of progesterone decreases slowly. When this hormone is low, you have less ability to balance out your estrogen levels. This is the source of the insomnia: Elevated estrogen negatively impacts melatonin and serotonin production. The combination of both is what we need to fall asleep and stay asleep.

    What’s a girl to do to get some shut-eye?

    To treat the underlying causes of your premenstrual insomnia, you’ve got to improve that ratio of estrogen and progesterone — while also not adding fuel to the fire with poor dietary habits. Here are five ways to attack the root causes of your sleepless nights:

    1. Break the coffee habit. Caffeine-heavy coffee could be hurting your sleep, making you unable to catch those Zzs at night. Try giving it up the week before your period.

    2. Boost your magnesium levels by eating some bananas. If you rely on caffeine to stay energized, it’s possible magnesium deficiency is the reason you’re feeling so zapped.

    3. Feed your gut bacteria. Right after you ovulate, you have much more estrogen circulating in your body. What you eat can help your body metabolize this, and fermented foods and probiotics are a great place to start. Your microbiome determines how well you’ll break down estrogen, and therefore promote melatonin and serotonin production.

    4. Turn back the hormonal clock. When we don’t eat in a pro-hormonal way, we can actually age more quickly and sleep more poorly. Adding vitamin B6 can help boost your progesterone levels — without having to take bio-identical hormones.

    5. Outsmart your stress. A gentle, but effective, adaptogen herb called ashwagandha will help your adrenals respond better to stress and help you unwind more easily at night.

    (SD-Agencies)