A meta-analytic review of 13 studies published in Journal of Sleep Research We investigated the effects of hormonal contraceptives on women’s sleep patterns and found no significant changes in women using these types of contraceptives. , on average, slept 7 minutes less than women who did not use these contraceptives.
Hormonal contraceptives, which allow women to plan when to have children, are among the most commonly used drugs worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that 26% of women of reproductive age worldwide use some form of hormonal contraceptive.
In recent decades, the use of hormonal contraceptives has gone beyond contraception alone and has been adopted as a treatment for a variety of adverse conditions such as facial acne, seborrhea, alopecia, hirsutism, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Their use is also associated with reduced incidence of ovarian, endometrial, and colorectal cancers.
It is known that women’s sleep changes with age, and that these changes are caused by hormonal fluctuations. Qualitatively, it causes changes in hormone levels and affects sleep. Negative effects have been reported.
“There is strong evidence that changes in sex hormone levels in women affect sleep,” said study author Gabriel Nathan Pires, a psychobiology researcher at the Federal University of Sao Paulo.
“Most of it comes from data on postmenopausal women because lower hormone levels at this stage of life are associated with increased sleep disturbances (primarily obstructive sleep apnea and insomnia) and And because hormone replacement therapy usually improves sleep in these women, the normal hormonal oscillations observed along the menstrual cycle are associated with sleep disturbances. There are studies that show that
“Next, based on previous data on the relationship between sex hormones and sleep in women, we questioned whether contraceptives can also affect sleep in women of reproductive age.” The pill) is widely used, but few studies have analyzed it,” explained Pires, who did the research alongside Andrea Bezera as part of his doctoral dissertation.
“Our hypothesis was that, similar to hormone replacement therapy during menopause, contraceptive use may improve sleep in women of reproductive age. This hypothesis is evaluated by a meta-analysis. We aimed to do this, a type of study design that combines data from several other studies into a single analysis.
To codify existing knowledge about the relationship between hormonal contraceptives and women’s sleep patterns, researchers analyzed data from 13 published studies on hormonal contraceptives and sleep.
The study authors filtered a total of 3,060 articles found by searching the PubMed database using the keywords hormonal contraceptives and sleep for studies of women of reproductive age (age 18–45 years), and found hormonal contraceptive use or exposure. and documented various properties of hormonal contraceptives. sleepy. Among these, they identified 13 studies that met the criteria and extracted data on sleep and hormonal contraceptive use from them.
“We are aware that all available research on this topic (used in our analysis) has been purely observational and has never been conducted in a randomized controlled trial,” said Pires. I was very surprised,” he said.
“Most studies consisted of convenient samples in which there were no restrictions or controls on the contraceptives used (including type, composition, dosage, duration of use, route of administration). The few that we did were all related to oral formulations,” the researchers wrote. also mentioned.
Overall, some studies reported improved sleep efficiency in women who used hormonal contraceptives, and some studies reported improved sleep efficiency in women who did not use hormonal contraceptives. When all sleep characteristics were compared in different studies, the only difference between the two groups was the finding that women using hormonal contraceptives woke up an average of seven minutes earlier, counting from the time they fell asleep. Researchers have discovered one thing (the time a person falls). than women who do not use these contraceptives.
“Contrary to our hypothesis, contraceptives did not significantly affect sleep in women of reproductive age,” Pires told PsyPost. Taking it is unlikely to affect a woman’s sleep, meaning it neither improves nor worsens.”
“But this is a general conclusion, and while it may apply to most women taking contraceptives, it does not apply to all women. You should consult your gynecologist/GP if you feel drowsiness, fatigue, insomnia, or other sleep-related symptoms caused by It is especially important for those who
This study codifies the available scientific knowledge about the effects of hormonal contraceptives. A limitation to consider, however, is the fact that the studies included in this analysis were observational and compared different groups of women with discordant individual characteristics. , implying that it may be due to differences between groups unrelated to hormonal contraceptives.
“Although our conclusions appear to be valid for contraceptives in general, these conclusions should not be applied individually to specific contraceptive prescriptions.” There are several different contraceptives, and their formulations, dosages, and routes of administration vary considerably, and ultimately, certain contraceptives may improve sleep and may be preferred by women with insomnia, or vice versa. , is not recommended for women who have trouble sleeping, as the presentation of certain contraceptives may worsen sleep.
“In any case, these more specific conclusions can only be answered if adequate randomized controlled trials are conducted. Of particular interest are contraceptives with specific routes of administration, such as hormonal intrauterine devices, because they can give
The paper “Effects of hormonal contraceptive use on women’s sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis” was authored by Andrea Gomez Bezera, Monica Levy Andersen, Gabriel Nathan Pires, Sergio Tufik and Helena Hachul.
