Struggling to sleep may affect a woman's chance of falling pregnant, new research has found. Following on from the discovery that tart cherry juice can help lead to a good night's sleep, it's been claimed that women who fail to get a decent amount of shut eye could find it harder to have a baby.
Experts from Hanabusa Women's Clinic in Kobe, Japan, looked into 208 women who were struggling to conceive. The participants were asked to fill out a survey known as the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality index and to document how many hours they slept for, any disturbances, whether they woke up during the night, their sleep quality, alcohol intake and use of sleeping pills.
Struggling to sleep could affect a woman's chance of falling pregnant
Trial participants were then split into three categories; severe difficulties, mild difficulties and no sleep difficulties. Looking into the women further, the researchers found that the eggs of women who slept soundly were 20 per cent more likely to be fertilised than those who didn't rest well. In fact, 67.1 per cent of eggs from women who slept well were successful in a laboratory, whereas 63.1 per cent of eggs from women with mild difficulties fertilised, and 48.6 per cent from women with severe sleep difficulties.
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On top of these discoveries, it was also highlighted that alcohol affected the chances of successful fertilisation, with occasional or moderate consumption actually having a positive affect which could be down to the fact that it helps the women sleep. "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," the researchers said of their findings, which were published on the website American Society for Reproductive Medicine. These results also come after it was found that less than six hours of sleep a night can drop the levels of a hormone needed for conception.
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