Sleep
Medical Studies on Pregnenolone – Sleep
Sleep is an important factor in general well-being and also promotes important processes in the human body that serve to maintain health. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, is associated with a wide range of cognitive and behavioral consequences. Pregnenolone and its metabolites play an important role in this process.
Healthy Sleep, Thanks to Pregnenolone
Several substances exert a significant influence on the sleep process, including pregnenolone and hormones metabolized from pregnenolone, such as estrogen and progesterone. Atypical levels of these hormones cause changes in sleep patterns, for example, those related to hormonal cycles in women. Furthermore, studies have shown that pregnenolone is directly involved in the incidence of slow-wave, or deep, sleep.
Stress Hormone Cortisol
Cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone“ and also a metabolite of pregnenolone, is also involved in healthy sleep. It is released in the morning, when it provides a needed energy boost, increase in attention and improved memory. In the evening, cortisol levels drop, reaching a low by midnight. However, prolonged stressful situations cause cortisol to be produced in higher amounts throughout the day. This affects the evening release of the important sleep hormone melatonin, which in turn not only results in difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep but also leads to the dysregulation of all other hormones.
Medical Studies on Pregnenolone – Sleep
Neurobehavioural complications of sleep deprivation: shedding light on the emerging role of neuroactive steroids
Sleep deprivation (SD) is associated with a broad spectrum of cognitive and behavioural complications, including emotional lability and enhanced stress reactivity, as well as deficits in executive functions, decision making and impulse control.
Sleep and sleep-related disorders in women
There are sex differences in sleep from a very early age till adulthood and older age. The changing hormone profile across the reproductive life of a woman, from puberty through the reproductive period to the postmenopausal years, has a significant influence on sleep.
Steroid hormones and sleep regulation
In the search of the sleep substance, many studies have been addressed for different hormones, responsible for sleep-wake cycle regulation. In this article we mentioned the participation of steroid hormones, besides its role regulating sexual behavior, they influence importantly in the sleep process.
Female social and sexual interest across the menstrual cycle: the roles of pain, sleep and hormones
Although research suggests that socio-sexual behavior changes in conjunction with the menstrual cycle, several potential factors are rarely taken into consideration. We investigated the role of changing hormone concentrations on self-reported physical discomfort, sleep, exercise and socio-sexual interest in young, healthy women.