Good quality sleep is essential to conceive – finds a study

A sound sleep is essential to have better chances to become pregnant, a study finds.

A survey of Japanese females trying to conceive found that those, who experienced an uninterrupted quality sleep improved their fertilization rate by almost 20% more than the group with poor sleep quality. Also, the women, who slept well had 14% faster growth rates of fertilized eggs.

The researchers said that their study showed that a good quality sleep is one of the critical factors in improving the chances of getting pregnant. Thus, conceiving mothers should prioritize to have regular and sound sleep.

The survey was conducted by Kobe City Medical Centre on females going through IVF showed that limited consumption of alcohol has a positive effect on the fertility rate. The authors predicted that it happened due to sleep-inducing and stress-relieving attributes of alcohol.

Results of a prior research, presented during the annual congress of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, demonstrated that women sleeping with than 6 hours of night sleep experienced 20% reduction in a hormone crucial for conceiving. Another research found that pregnant women, who don’t sleep for at least 8 hours during the night time are more prone to miscarriage.

Insomnia, a condition characterized by difficulty in sleeping or inability to sleep for longer duration, impacts nearly one-third of the UK’s population.

Given below are recommendations of sleeping hours according to the age:

Under normal conditions, an adult requires to sleep daily for 7-9 hours, as suggested by the National Health Service (NHS). however, the requirement may vary from person to person.

The researchers stated that “Good sleep patterns can be one of the important daily habits for patients to improve their response to fertility treatments and increase their chances of pregnancy.”

Myths Related to Sleep:

One Can Compensate Sleep Deprivation During Weekends: A common myth held by many people is that they can compensate their deprived amount of sleep by sleeping a few extra hours during weekends. On the contrary, to fully recover the sleep debt, one should actually follow a routine of daily recommended sleep for 2-3 weeks.

One Should Daily Sleep for At Least 8 hours in Night: An 8-hour sleep in a night is advisable, but taking too much sleep is also harmful. A study conducted in 2009 on 5177 people by the NIH and Welfare in Finland discovered that ‘long-duration sleepers’ are likely to be at the risk of memory deficits than those, who sleep for a relatively short duration.

Early Risers are More Productive: Conducted in 1998 by Southampton University, a study observed sleep patterns, cognitive function and health of 1229 women and men revealed no strong evidence to prove that larks (who sleep before 11 pm and wake up at or before 8 am) have better cognitive performance or efficiency than owls (who stay up late and wake up at or after 8 am).

Experts believe that sleeping patterns influence the fertility rate by affecting hormone levels. Moreover, sleep is also closely related to an individual’s lifestyle, comprising drinking habits, diet and exercise, which is crucial in deciding the success of fertilization. Sleep deprivation raises the stress levels of a person; hence, an important factor that can impact conception.