Hola!
This is a question for the gals or guys if you can offer help!
Have you noticed any difference with your periods? Does sleep or lack thereof affect your menstrual cycle? I feel like it has a huge impact and maybe sofi is the solution? Really interested to explore and find out.
Tia
No, but I’m normally super exhausted for a week or so before starting. All I want to do is sleep.
This is such a super important question for us at sofi - because it may be an externality we have to track for its impact on sleeping patterns. Love to have views as well from @alexwalkerjones , @pamelaspence and @Nicki on this … something we have been thinking about when considering implications for sofi’s brain to understand sleeping patterns @enricovarano
@hennakamran09
Yes - there is definitely a link. One study showed that women with PMS were twice as likely to experience disturbed sleep before and during their period and worse 70% of women with PMDD reported insomnia during that time in one study. It seems like the more severe the PMS generally the more likely sleep will be disturbed. So in this case it makes sense to deal with the hormone imbalance causing the PMS because all the good sleep hygiene in the world won’t solve it - although it might improve it a bit.
@Kaveh Yes this is really important - SO MANY factors affect sleep and lack of sleep is the symptom, not the primary issue. The key is anxiety but also reproductive hormones (especially during perimenopause), thyroid health, musculo-skeletal health (joint pain) etc. When I’m building a herbal prescription in clinic we deal with all these layers in the medicine for each person. This is where herbal polypharmacy works so well when it targets all the issues for one person, not just the symptom of poor sleep.
Maybe you can add the piece of a period tracker where we indicate where we are in our cycles. That way you can monitor how it’s affecting sleep patterns.
I am in the middle of perimenopause, and I toss and turn more, and overheat sometimes.
How did you determine you’re peri? I’ve thought I was but the GYN said no.
My age, symptoms, menstrual cycle length, infrequently, cold/hot spells, mood swings, ect.
Really good question @hennakamran09
There is a lot of scientific literature that recognises the effect of menstrual cycle phase on sleep generally speaking, but what is less clear is how the effect works for an individual. There are a few studies that have appreciated the uniqueness of individuals in the way that sofi does, and not surprisingly, the effects on sleep are not the same for everyone. In fact for some women, sleeping patterns and difficulty sleeping was not related to menstrual cycle at all
Hi BRANDNEWME!, I was told by my Doctor that once you have gone 12 months without a period you are classed as menopausal, anytime before that it’s peri, I don’t think many Docs bother with the blood tests now? X
That’s right - the term menopausal is technically after 12 months with no period. Most of my patients are not getting bloods done at all BUT that is in the UK where it is unusual to test. In the USA they test much more frequently and I have noticed women there getting bloods done to confirm menopause. Our healthcare systems function really differently.
Would love to know more about the poly prescribing at herbal pharmacy if possible please
Hi @helenlacey and welcome to the treehouse 
So as medical herbalists we rarely use one plant at a time, because we know that they tend to work in synergy together. I usually describe it as layering up plants to point in a particular direction. So for example if I was using chamomile, then I could layer that with other calming herbs if the issue was one of stress, with other digestive herbs if the issue was digestive, with other skin herbs if it was a skin problem. By layering up herbs we can deal with several symptoms at once and also try to get to the root of the problem.
So if you have migraines for example, we could support your adrenals (if they are stress related) support your liver (if the liver is a bit congested) and give hormonal herbs (if we think that hormonal imbalance is part of the issue too) and give you pain relief to deal with the discomfort. So the herbs work together to bring about relief and resolution.
Does that make sense?
Pamela 
Im in the uk and i had blood tests done for menopause
Welcome @malone.shelley to the treehouse! Have you had your results back yet? Have you found that hormonal changes have affected your sleep?
TMI
This period has been bad. I spent most of the weekend in the recliner with one or two heating pads. Last night I didn’t get any sleep with the heavy flow and constant changing (the anti-clotting meds failed me). So I called off work today. I didn’t journal yesterday or use sofi last night.
I finally was able to fall asleep (instead of dozing) around 5am and slept for a couple of hours. After about 12 hours of suffering, I started to feel better and ate breakfast. I just woke up from a 2 hour nap. My body felt like dead weight and took a bit before I could move.
