- By Priyanka Munshi
- Wed, 02 Apr 2025 05:14 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
When going through In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), most couples focus on diet, medications, and other medical interventions to increase their chances of conception. However, another crucial factor influencing IVF success is sleep. In a conversation with Jagran English, Dr. Akriti Gupta, a Fertility Specialist at Birla Fertility & IVF in Gorakhpur, discussed the connection between quality sleep and IVF success.
According to Dr. Akriti Gupta, the quality of sleep a person gets each night significantly affects overall health, including the reproductive system. Poor sleep can lead to hormonal imbalances, making the IVF procedure more challenging. Despite its crucial role in pregnancy, the importance of sleep is often overlooked. The reproductive cycle is controlled by hormones, and when sleep is compromised, hormone production is impacted, leading to imbalances.
The Link Between Quality Sleep And IVF Success
Frequent sleep disturbances or lack of sleep also cause stress, increasing cortisol levels (the stress hormone). High cortisol can further disrupt hormone levels, affecting an individual’s ability to conceive. The hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis, a key system regulating reproductive hormones like follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), may be disrupted by excessive cortisol. This disruption can lead to poor egg quality, difficulty with egg retrieval during IVF, and complications during oocyte maturation. If eggs are not retrieved or matured properly, the chances of fertilization and successful embryo implantation decrease, Dr. Akriti Gupta explained.
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Finally, Dr. Akriti Gupta emphasized that even with good-quality embryos, stress and sleep deprivation can make it difficult for the uterus to accept and nurture the embryo, increasing the risk of implantation failure. Additionally, high stress and lack of sleep raise the chances of miscarriage. All of this underscores the importance of sufficient rest before, during, and after pregnancy or the IVF procedure. For couples undergoing IVF, good sleep combined with effective stress management can improve the chances of a successful outcome and a healthy pregnancy.