Hormonal Shifts Can Disrupt Sleep Quality. This Supplement Is Getting to the Root With Targeted Support.

The other day, I ran into a woman I hadn’t seen in a while at one of my workout classes. After suggesting that I had been punished by the hostile energy of the Year of the Snake, she responded, “Is that what it was?? I just thought it was starting perimenopause. You don’t understand, my sleep has been insane. Women really get the short end of the stick.”

While there is no shortage of ready-made solutions for all the symptoms that come with this hormonal phase change—disrupted sleep, night sweats, irregular periods, mood swings, etc.—many women are looking for more holistic, hormone-and-Rx-free options that will work with and alongside the body’s natural systems rather than substitute or suppress.

Bonafide®, a women-centric brand uniquely built around providing hormone-free relief for perimenopause and menopause, is creating clinically backed, gynecologist-recommended formulas that address the full portfolio of symptoms experienced during this hormonal chapter.

Their latest innovation—Noctera™—is tackling disrupted sleep head-on, helping women sleep through the night, improve sleep quality, and wake up feeling more rested without hormones, melatonin, or next-day grogginess (if you’ve taken store-bought melatonin before, you know the grogginess I’m referring to).

How Hormones Affect Sleep Hygiene

You don’t need to be a devoted biohacker or longevity expert to know that sleep and circadian rhythms matter. More and more, sleep has dominated the health-and-wellness conversation as one of the key biomarkers for long-term health outcomes. 

Whether it’s this ring, that headband, or those arm thingymabobs, people are done simplifying their sleep success through how much sleep they’re getting—now, it’s all about the data behind their sleep quality.

However, even the most olympic of sleepers can’t avoid the circadian earthquake caused by hormonal shifts. 

As estrogen and progesterone decline, the risk for insomnia, sleep apnea, and anxiety all increase—*screams into pillow.* Progesterone—you see—provides a calming effect, so as one’s hormones begin to mimic that of a pinball machine, serotonin levels are also impacted. If you think of this like a math problem, we’re adding cortisol (stress), decreasing serotonin (joy), and depleting the hormones that help you stay asleep. What does this equal? Dysregulated body temp, brain chemistry, and mood, meaning disrupted, fragmented, poor-quality sleep (which inevitably leads to worse mornings and days ahead). Chicken-egg cycle, you guys!

So what’s a girl to do?

Staying Asleep Naturally

My friend’s mom, who is a sex therapist (at 78 years old), recently told me an amazing analogy as it related to the difference between men's and women’s brains: “Think of a man’s brain like a dresser with a million drawers. Each drawer has one item, sometimes none! Meanwhile, a woman’s brain is like a bundle of live wires, all swirling around each other at the same time.”

Therefore, when hormonal shifts happen, those live wires hyper-activate, increasing women’s brain activity during sleep. Menopause, specifically, leads to abnormal GABA and glutamate activity, which basically means one’s ability to stay “chill” goes out the door. Both of the neurotransmitters just mentioned help the central nervous system stay regulated and balanced, so when they’re out of whack, so too is sleep regulation and sleep quality. 

The four ingredients in Noctera™—magnesium, GABA, L-Theanine + SAMe—work together synergistically to promote calming signals that become overactive as estrogen declines. This proprietary continuous release formula blocks glutamate from sending signals that keep the mind stimulated when the body needs rest while also stimulating the GABA receptor to help calm the nervous system. Meanwhile, SAMe, an exclusive ingredient to Noctera™, specifically works to improve sleep quality and reduce sleep disruptions associated with menopause.

Unlike many over-the-counter or prescription “quick fixes,” Noctera™ is meant to be used as a daily supplement that is non-habit-forming and won’t leave you feeling hungover the next day. Because it is working alongside the body’s natural systems, consistent use for one-to-two months is recommended, but many women reported noticing results as soon as two-to-three weeks. 

Some Sleep Extra Credit

Even if you’re not currently in the throes of your next hormonal chapter, here are just some basic tips for better sleep hygiene:

• Go to bed and wake up at a consistent time every day
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark + quiet
• Exercise regularly, but avoid vigorous workouts within 2-3 hours of bedtime
• Avoid long / late naps during the day
• Limit caffeine starting in the afternoon (around 12p)
• Minimize alcohol before bed (it causes fragmented sleep!)
• Avoid screens + blue light 30-60 minutes before bed

Stay balanced. sleep better + dream bigger with Noctera™.