I stumbled across this article (scroll down towards the bottom) today about fertility and sleeping in the dark. Interesting, non?
An excerpt:
"
Other clinical researchers have also found that sleeping in the absence of light (introducing it for a few days each cycle, or sleeping only in the absence of light) can help women in a variety of situations to strengthen their cycles.6,7
- Women with anovulatory cycles have become ovulatory.
- Women with unclear mucus readings develop discernible, healthy mucus build-up.
- Cycles that had been very short (26 days or less) or very long (35 days or more) become 27-31 days long.
- FSH levels become healthy.
- Spotting at various times during the cycle is significantly reduced.
- Progesterone levels are strengthened.
- Women with a history of miscarriage are able to sustain pregnancy.
- Premenopausal women develop a more discernible mucus pattern; and the intensity of their premenopausal symptoms, including hot flashes, sleeplessness, and mood changes are reduced.
"
Well, heck, why not give it a shot? I've certainly done everything else! And I like sleeping in the dark - unfortunately there is a street light outside our bedroom window, so it is pretty light in there all night, even though we have light-blocking curtains (light gets in at the top). I spoke to DH, he's going to do something about it. Full dark, except for around ovulation?
There are very few times in life I've slept in full dark, but I generally find it very restful. I have a lot of trouble sleeping in the light - in the morning when it is bright out so early (due to it being summer), I have tons of trouble going back to sleep if I open my eyes. On the flip side, I can barely crawl out of bed in the winter - I'm totally tied to light. So this maybe will help! :)
Another article
So here's the question - keep with your current cycle and use full dark/3 days of light to enhance it, or gradually change your cycle to actually match the moon? (Full moon is not until Aug 1st, so you can see I'm pretty far off)
The Inteweb doesn't have a ton of chatter about this, specifically HOW TO. Maybe I ought to get that lady's book. (Update: Just put it on hold at the library, cuz that's how I roll)
Has anyone else heard of this? Tried it? Who's with me in trying it?!? :)
I can't remember if it was my practitioner or Dr Nora who mentioned this to me. It's definitely worth a shot!
ReplyDeleteMy napro doc also recommended using black out blinds. This was a while ago and I haven't done it because of the cost and logistics. We had an estimate for blinds and they were like 400 dollars. Too much. Then I bought elcheapo blackout shades (which were still $25 each) and they kept falling down- the winding mechanism stunk. Then I thought I'd add blackout fabric to the curtains which wouldn't give us total darkness because the curtains aren't flat against the wall and light would get in. But, I read you couldn't wash the blackout fabric (not sure if that was true or not). Plus, I'm not a sewer so it would be tricky. So I just kind of put it on the back burner. You inspired me to look around the internet for another solution. I found one where you cut out foamboard to fit the window and put it up at night. I'm going to give it a try this week and I'll let you know! Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Good luck! I am still really excited about this.
DeleteThat is quite interesting! I recently got black-out curtains for our bedroom because we've had extreme heat this summer. Even with those and our blinds - it seems like a little light gets in from our street light, too. I will see if I can fix that somehow. I'm all for anything that might help :-) Thanks for the great info!
ReplyDeleteInteresting!!!
ReplyDelete