Sleep and Fertility: Why Rest Matters When Trying to Conceive

For Healthcare Professionals Only

Sleep is a key, yet often overlooked, factor in fertility. Both the quantity and quality of sleep influence hormone regulation and ovulation. For patients trying to conceive, addressing sleep can be as important as diet, lifestyle, and supplementation.

How Sleep Impacts Fertility

Sleep regulates critical reproductive hormones, including GnRH, LH, FSH, cortisol, and melatonin. Disruption of circadian rhythms or insufficient sleep can impair ovulation, cycle regularity, and embryo quality, making sleep a modifiable factor in fertility care.

Female Fertility and Sleep

In women, poor sleep can alter the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian axis, affecting ovulation and menstrual cycle regularity. Studies have linked short or fragmented sleep, shift work, and evening chronotypes to lower egg quality and reduced fertilisation rates in assisted reproduction cycles. Elevated stress hormones such as cortisol may further interfere with ovarian hormone signalling, emphasising the need for restorative, consistent sleep.

Male Fertility and Sleep

In men, sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality are associated with reduced testosterone levels, which are essential for spermatogenesis. Evidence shows disrupted sleep can reduce sperm concentration, motility, and DNA integrity. Circadian rhythm disturbances may also impact overall reproductive hormone balance, highlighting sleep as a critical, yet often overlooked, component of male fertility.

Recommendations for Improving Sleep When Trying to Conceive

1. Encourage Regular Sleep Patterns

Consistent bedtimes and wake times help regulate circadian rhythms and hormone secretion.

2. Optimise the Sleep Environment

Advise a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom. Limiting screen exposure in the hour before bed supports endogenous melatonin production.

3. Stress Management

Techniques such as mindfulness, relaxation exercises, or journaling can reduce evening cortisol and improve sleep quality.

4. Lifestyle Modifications

Moderate caffeine and alcohol intake, particularly in the afternoon and evening, to avoid sleep disruption.

5. Supportive Nutrition

Nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B6, and melatonin precursors can support healthy sleep patterns, which in turn benefit reproductive function.

Key Takeaways

Sleep is not just restorative, it’s reproductive. Consistently poor sleep can disrupt hormones, ovulation, and fertility in both women and men. By prioritizing sleep hygiene, stress management, and supportive nutrition, patients can create a more favourable environment for conception.

For couples trying to conceive, sleep should be considered as important as diet, exercise, and supplementation. Supporting patients with practical, evidence-based guidance on rest can make a meaningful difference in fertility outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does sleep affect fertility?

   Sleep influences key reproductive hormones including GnRH, LH, FSH, cortisol, and melatonin. Poor sleep or disrupted circadian rhythms can impact ovulation, hormone balance, and overall fertility in both women and men.

2. Can poor sleep affect ovulation?

   Yes, poor sleep can disrupt the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian axis, affecting ovulation and menstrual cycle regularity. This may reduce the chances of conception over time.

3. Does sleep impact sperm quality?

   Sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality have been linked to reduced testosterone levels, lower sperm concentration, motility, and DNA integrity, all of which are important for male fertility.

4. What are the best ways to improve sleep when trying to conceive?

   Maintaining consistent sleep patterns, creating a cool and dark sleep environment, managing stress, and reducing caffeine and alcohol intake can all support better sleep quality.

5. Can nutrition support better sleep for fertility?

   Yes, nutrients such as magnesium, vitamin B6, and melatonin precursors can support healthy sleep patterns, which in turn help maintain hormone balance and reproductive function.

 

References:

i X, et al. Sleep disturbances and female infertility: a systematic review. BMC Womens Health. 2024. Sleep disturbances and female infertility: a systematic review | BMC Women's Health | Springer Nature Link

Systematic review: Sleep and reproductive function in women and men. Fertil Steril. 2020. Impact of sleep on female and male reproductive functions: a systematic review - PubMed

Zhu J, et al. Association of male sleep quality with semen parameters and pregnancy outcomes. Basic Clin Androl. 2025. Association of male sleep quality with semen parameters and pregnancy outcomes in infertile couple | Basic and Clinical Andrology | Springer Nature Link

Circadian rhythm and sperm quality: epidemiological evidence. Front Endocrinol. 2022. Frontiers | The potential impacts of circadian rhythm disturbances on male fertility

Sleep onset and reproductive hormone pulsatility: cohort evidence. Reprod Health. 2025. Sleep behaviors and time-to-pregnancy: results from a Guangzhou City cohort | Reproductive Health | Springer Nature Link