Week 7
Welcome to the Module 2 Week 7 of the Fertile Ground Holistic Fertility Program!
Module 2
Week 7
Module 2 - Week 7 will be focusing on how sleep and stress impact our hormones, what is estrogen dominance and a High Estrogen and Low Progesterone Protocol
Sleep and Stress
Your health is made up of many small daily steps (stress, sleep, movement, environment and mindset).
Stress
Inside the Stress Response
When you encounter a stressor, your sympathetic nervous system stimulates the release of adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare you for fight or flight by increasing blood flow to your heart, lungs, brain and muscles, raising blood sugar for a burst of energy, activating your immune system in case of injury or infection and directing away from non-essential functions like digestion and reproduction. When the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over to counterbalance these responses and bring you back to neutral. In response to a temporary threat, this system works beautifully.
In the past, stress has been short-lived. Once we got away from danger, these chemical messengers returned to normal. The problem today is our bodies still have the same biological response, but we have more psychological stress in our lives. For many, the stress response never switches off and this can affect every system in the body including hormones, digestion, immune system, metabolism, brain and mood. Chronic stress is a driving force behind many conditions, including fertility issues.
Stress, hormones and fertility
Stress directly affects the synchronicity of hormones and some of the problems that arise include:
Insulin resistance
Prolonged stress can lead to insulin resistance over time. Cortisol tells your liver to convert stored energy into glucoses; simultaneously, insulin is release by your pancreas to regulate the newly elevated blood sugar. Elevated blood-sugar and insulin levels can result in insulin resistance as cells stop listening to insulin's message. When the ovaries are exposed to consistently high insulin levels, they begin to alter their hormone production in favor of androgens (male hormones), interfering with ovulation and affecting fertility.
Low thyroid function
An elevated output of cortisol blocks the conversion of the thyroid pre-hormone T4 to active T3, instead promoting the conversion of T4 to inactive T3 (reverse T3).
Low progesterone
Progesterone is vital for fertility. It rises following ovulation and creates an environment to support a baby's growth by thickening the lining of the uterus, reducing inflammation and changing secretions. Stress has an impact on sex hormones. Your body will choose survival over reproduction.
Elevated prolactin is released in response to stress and prolactin suppresses sex hormones, interfering with fertility.
The Stress-les Solution
Practice Gratitude - Gratitude is the practice of turning your attention to the goodness that is already in your life.
Self-care is Essential
Mother yourself before you mother another! It's vital to embrace this concept to optimize your fertility. How can you grow and nourish a baby if you don't nourish yourself? Taking time for rest and recuperation will do wonders for your wellbeing.
Embrace Stillness and Be Present
You can choose to be mindful at any moment of your day by turning into your senses. What can you see, feel, hear, tase and smell in this exact moment? When you are tapped into your senses, you are mindful and present.
Disconnect to Reconnect
Constant access to social media and relentless streams of information displace boundaries that keep us healthy and balanced.
Meditate to Help Manage Strong Emotions
A regular meditation practice can help promote adaptability and resilience and reduce reactivity. Regular sitting for just 10 minutes daily can have a positive influence on your mental health, helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga is where you position your body in supported postures and relax into them for up to 20 minutes. Your body opens gently, and you begin to destress as your parasympathetic nervous system take over.
The Power of No
Advocate for yourself by setting limits to protect your well-being. Saying no is the ultimate act of self-care. Listen to your body and recognize when it's sending you a desperate plea for help.
Prioritize Sleep
Adequate, good-quality sleep is essential for helping you to manage stress. Lack of sleep and stress go hand in hand; sleep deprivation is associated with high cortisol levels.
Drink Herbal Tea
Chamomile tea is well known for helping to evoke a sense of calm.
Connect with Nature
Being in nature is associated with improved psychological wellbeing.
Smart Supplements for Stress
Adaptogens for Stress Support
Sleep
Sleep is the ultimate pause you need at the end of the day to give your body a chance to rest and clean up. Your brain never stops working and its processes generate waste, which it gets rid of via the glymphatic system - your brain's waste-disposal system. Most glymphatic activities take place during sleep cycles and your brain's neurons dispose of most of their wast while you sleep.
The Magic Number
Not all sleep cycles are the same length, but on average they last 90 minutes each. Research suggests that five 90 minute sleep cycles are needed every night to reset your natural clock and cortisol rhythm, to ditch the chemical toxins that accumulate in your brain and body all day and for your brain to do the work of sorting an filing new information. The magic number is at least 7 hours of good quality sleep every night.
Melatonin regulates the circadian rhythm. It's extremely light sensitive. Morning light signals your brain to release cortisol - cortisol wakes you and should be at its peak in the morning. Melatonin and cortisol are in an opposite relationship; when melatonin is high, cortisol should be low and vice versa. When either of these gets out of balance, it affects your ability to sleep.
As well, regulating sleep, melatonin may influence your fertility. Melatonin receptors are found on ovarian cells and the fluid in ovarian follicles contains high concentrations of melatonin and these levels rise with follicular growth. It may, therefore, play an important role in ovulation.
Are You Sleep Deprived?
If you experience any of the following symptoms, take the steps outlined below to help optimize your sleep:
The Sleep Solution
Doing all you can to support high-quality sleep is one of the most important ways to care for your body.
Smart Supplements for Sleep
Stress
Inside the Stress Response
When you encounter a stressor, your sympathetic nervous system stimulates the release of adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare you for fight or flight by increasing blood flow to your heart, lungs, brain and muscles, raising blood sugar for a burst of energy, activating your immune system in case of injury or infection and directing away from non-essential functions like digestion and reproduction. When the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over to counterbalance these responses and bring you back to neutral. In response to a temporary threat, this system works beautifully.
In the past, stress has been short-lived. Once we got away from danger, these chemical messengers returned to normal. The problem today is our bodies still have the same biological response, but we have more psychological stress in our lives. For many, the stress response never switches off and this can affect every system in the body including hormones, digestion, immune system, metabolism, brain and mood. Chronic stress is a driving force behind many conditions, including fertility issues.
Stress, hormones and fertility
Stress directly affects the synchronicity of hormones and some of the problems that arise include:
Insulin resistance
Prolonged stress can lead to insulin resistance over time. Cortisol tells your liver to convert stored energy into glucoses; simultaneously, insulin is release by your pancreas to regulate the newly elevated blood sugar. Elevated blood-sugar and insulin levels can result in insulin resistance as cells stop listening to insulin's message. When the ovaries are exposed to consistently high insulin levels, they begin to alter their hormone production in favor of androgens (male hormones), interfering with ovulation and affecting fertility.
Low thyroid function
An elevated output of cortisol blocks the conversion of the thyroid pre-hormone T4 to active T3, instead promoting the conversion of T4 to inactive T3 (reverse T3).
Low progesterone
Progesterone is vital for fertility. It rises following ovulation and creates an environment to support a baby's growth by thickening the lining of the uterus, reducing inflammation and changing secretions. Stress has an impact on sex hormones. Your body will choose survival over reproduction.
Elevated prolactin is released in response to stress and prolactin suppresses sex hormones, interfering with fertility.
The Stress-les Solution
Practice Gratitude - Gratitude is the practice of turning your attention to the goodness that is already in your life.
Self-care is Essential
Mother yourself before you mother another! It's vital to embrace this concept to optimize your fertility. How can you grow and nourish a baby if you don't nourish yourself? Taking time for rest and recuperation will do wonders for your wellbeing.
Embrace Stillness and Be Present
You can choose to be mindful at any moment of your day by turning into your senses. What can you see, feel, hear, tase and smell in this exact moment? When you are tapped into your senses, you are mindful and present.
Disconnect to Reconnect
Constant access to social media and relentless streams of information displace boundaries that keep us healthy and balanced.
Meditate to Help Manage Strong Emotions
A regular meditation practice can help promote adaptability and resilience and reduce reactivity. Regular sitting for just 10 minutes daily can have a positive influence on your mental health, helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
Restorative Yoga
Restorative Yoga is where you position your body in supported postures and relax into them for up to 20 minutes. Your body opens gently, and you begin to destress as your parasympathetic nervous system take over.
The Power of No
Advocate for yourself by setting limits to protect your well-being. Saying no is the ultimate act of self-care. Listen to your body and recognize when it's sending you a desperate plea for help.
Prioritize Sleep
Adequate, good-quality sleep is essential for helping you to manage stress. Lack of sleep and stress go hand in hand; sleep deprivation is associated with high cortisol levels.
Drink Herbal Tea
Chamomile tea is well known for helping to evoke a sense of calm.
Connect with Nature
Being in nature is associated with improved psychological wellbeing.
Smart Supplements for Stress
- B Vitamin Complex
- Vitamin C
- Magnesium
Adaptogens for Stress Support
- Ashwagandha
- Maca Reishi mushrooms
- Rhodiola
Sleep
Sleep is the ultimate pause you need at the end of the day to give your body a chance to rest and clean up. Your brain never stops working and its processes generate waste, which it gets rid of via the glymphatic system - your brain's waste-disposal system. Most glymphatic activities take place during sleep cycles and your brain's neurons dispose of most of their wast while you sleep.
The Magic Number
Not all sleep cycles are the same length, but on average they last 90 minutes each. Research suggests that five 90 minute sleep cycles are needed every night to reset your natural clock and cortisol rhythm, to ditch the chemical toxins that accumulate in your brain and body all day and for your brain to do the work of sorting an filing new information. The magic number is at least 7 hours of good quality sleep every night.
Melatonin regulates the circadian rhythm. It's extremely light sensitive. Morning light signals your brain to release cortisol - cortisol wakes you and should be at its peak in the morning. Melatonin and cortisol are in an opposite relationship; when melatonin is high, cortisol should be low and vice versa. When either of these gets out of balance, it affects your ability to sleep.
As well, regulating sleep, melatonin may influence your fertility. Melatonin receptors are found on ovarian cells and the fluid in ovarian follicles contains high concentrations of melatonin and these levels rise with follicular growth. It may, therefore, play an important role in ovulation.
Are You Sleep Deprived?
If you experience any of the following symptoms, take the steps outlined below to help optimize your sleep:
- Stress and/or decreased tolerance for stress
- Blood-sugar dysregulation and insulin resistance
- Increased hunger and appetite
- Weight gain and/or inability to lose weight
- Frequent illness
- Fertility-related symptoms - hormonal imbalance, irregular cycles, poor egg and sperm quality
- Poor sleep also increase the risk of chronic conditions like obesity, diabetes and heart disease
The Sleep Solution
Doing all you can to support high-quality sleep is one of the most important ways to care for your body.
- Limit caffeine and alcohol
- Manage stress
- Balance blood sugar
- Ban blue light in the evening
- Prioritize sleep
- Consistency is the key
Smart Supplements for Sleep
- Vitamin B6
- Vitamin B12
- GABA
- L-Theanine
- Magnesium
- Create an optimal sleep environment
- Establish a routine
- Early-morning light exposure
- Light therapy box
Estrogen Dominance
We need estrogen, the right kind and in the right amount, to be healthy, happy women. The trouble arises when we don't have the right balance and we experience estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance can manifest in three different ways.
If you're experiencing symptoms of estrogen dominance, you have one or possibly all of these scenarios underway in your body.
Estrogen plays a major role in many aspects of our physical, mental and emotional health. Therefore, symptoms of estrogen dominance are many as well as varied. Symptoms may range from cellulite and heavy bleeding to irritability and thyroid nodules.
Another issue is that estrogen is highly inflammatory. Inflammation is an essential part of a healthy immune system, indicating damaged tissues that need repair or a threat (infection, foreign invader) to be fought. If the irritant persists. the inflammation doesn't subside. If it continues unchecked, it can become a chronic problem that has been linked to autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and Alzheimer's. Women with estrogen dominance suffer from chronic systemic inflammation; the whole body is inflamed.
Inflammation caused by estrogen dominance leads to poor estrogen metabolism, perpetuating a vicious cycle. It also compromises hormone receptors throughout the body, making it hard for hormones to get into the cells and do their job. So even if you have enough of the hormone in your bloodstream, it can't get into the cell to be used. You have receptors for estrogen pretty much everywhere, including your bones, brain and breasts. If inflammation is blocking the door to those receptors and estrogen can't get to work in the cell, you'll start experiencing symptoms.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance include:
Inflammation increases your risk for the chronic health issues mentioned above and estrogen dominance is also linked with an increased cancer risk.
The Symptoms of Low Progesterone
Low progesterone may be one cause of estrogen dominance. Women with low progesterone will have issues with falling an staying asleep, feel anxious a lot of the time, experience irregular menstrual cycles and may struggle to conceive. Low progesterone also puts you at higher risk for miscarriage or pre-term delivery because the hormone helps maintain the pregnancy. They symptoms are the same as estrogen dominance plus:
Estrogen Dominance and Autoimmune Diseases
Women are more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. This can be due to the fluctuations in our hormones. Excess estrogen is inflammatory and can aggravate an autoimmune condition.
Take my Estrogen Dominance Quiz here to see if you have estrogen dominance or low progesterone.
Review the Estrogen and Progesterone documents below in the handouts.
- Too much estradiol, or E2-You have too much estradiol, the "antagonistic" estrogen. Estradiol can do a lot of goo - preparing our body for pregnancy, supporting a positive mood, and protecting against bone loss. Estradiol is too powerful in high doses.
- The unfavorable breakdown of estrogen results in too many harmful metabolites or "dirty" estrogens. The liver is responsible for breaking down estradiol and estrone into smaller pieces as the first step in the process of eliminating metabolized or "used up" estrogen.
- Not enough progesterone to balance estrogen. Estrogen and progesterone are perfect when balanced. We can't function without them and can only function well when they even each other out. When one is more dominant, the delicate balance is destroyed. In the case of estrogen dominance, there's not enough progesterone to balance out the more aggressive estrogen.
If you're experiencing symptoms of estrogen dominance, you have one or possibly all of these scenarios underway in your body.
Estrogen plays a major role in many aspects of our physical, mental and emotional health. Therefore, symptoms of estrogen dominance are many as well as varied. Symptoms may range from cellulite and heavy bleeding to irritability and thyroid nodules.
Another issue is that estrogen is highly inflammatory. Inflammation is an essential part of a healthy immune system, indicating damaged tissues that need repair or a threat (infection, foreign invader) to be fought. If the irritant persists. the inflammation doesn't subside. If it continues unchecked, it can become a chronic problem that has been linked to autoimmune diseases, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma and Alzheimer's. Women with estrogen dominance suffer from chronic systemic inflammation; the whole body is inflamed.
Inflammation caused by estrogen dominance leads to poor estrogen metabolism, perpetuating a vicious cycle. It also compromises hormone receptors throughout the body, making it hard for hormones to get into the cells and do their job. So even if you have enough of the hormone in your bloodstream, it can't get into the cell to be used. You have receptors for estrogen pretty much everywhere, including your bones, brain and breasts. If inflammation is blocking the door to those receptors and estrogen can't get to work in the cell, you'll start experiencing symptoms.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance include:
- breast lumps
- fibrocystic breasts
- ER+ (estrogen receptor-positive) breasts cancer
- fibroids
- hot flashes
- PMS and PMDD
- heavy bleeding or postmenopausal bleeding
- spider or varicose veins
- fat and/or cellulite (especially around butt and thighs)
- heavy periods
- absent periods
- irregular or sporadic periods
- ovarian cysts
- uterine polyps
- irritability, mood swings or anxiety
- headaches or migraines, particularly before your period or mid-cycle
- thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer
- bloating, puffiness, or water retention
- endometriosis
- gallbladder problems
- melasma, brown facial discolorations or spots above your lips, on the side of your face and forehead
- allergies, due to estrogen's highly inflammatory nature
- estrogen-fueled cancers such as ovarian, uterine and lung cancer (in non-smokers)
Inflammation increases your risk for the chronic health issues mentioned above and estrogen dominance is also linked with an increased cancer risk.
The Symptoms of Low Progesterone
Low progesterone may be one cause of estrogen dominance. Women with low progesterone will have issues with falling an staying asleep, feel anxious a lot of the time, experience irregular menstrual cycles and may struggle to conceive. Low progesterone also puts you at higher risk for miscarriage or pre-term delivery because the hormone helps maintain the pregnancy. They symptoms are the same as estrogen dominance plus:
- insomnia
- waking in the middle of the night
- infertility
- miscarriages in the first trimester
- mid-cycle spotting
- anxiety and restlessness
- mood swings
Estrogen Dominance and Autoimmune Diseases
Women are more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. This can be due to the fluctuations in our hormones. Excess estrogen is inflammatory and can aggravate an autoimmune condition.
Take my Estrogen Dominance Quiz here to see if you have estrogen dominance or low progesterone.
Review the Estrogen and Progesterone documents below in the handouts.
Handouts and Resources
- Self Assessment
- Create Health Sleep Habits Handout
- Sleep, Stress and the Emotions
- Stress and the Effects on the Body
- 10 Stress Busting Tips
- Create a Stress Plan
- Personal Nourishment Menu
- Sleep and Stress Management Protocol
- Zap Your Stress E-Book
- doterra Adaptive
- Estrogen Dominance Chart
- 5 Foods to Reduce Estrogen Dominance
- High Estrogen-Low Progesterone Protocol
Action Items:
- Download each of the handouts and resources above
- Start to implement at least one a week of the Stress-less Solutions
- Continue to fill out the information in the 4 Phase Symptom Tracker - we will look at the info at the end of a month
- Take the Estrogen Dominance Quiz
- Continue to do cycle tracking
- Continue to do affirmations, gratitudes, journal entries and food diary
- Do Working With Emotional Energy exercise - you can use the MP3 or print the handout to use
Please complete this form so we can talk about info at next appointment
Have you joined the Facebook Group?
Join our Women's Health Facebook group and get extra support, ask questions and join in on the live Q&A sessions each month! We hold classes frequently on women's health where you can gather information on many topics.
