What role does Stress play in Fertility
Everyone can get stress once in a while. So if you are meeting a work deadline or have changed your job, it may not hurt your baby-making abilities. But if your stress goes on for a long time or if you are dealing with a major change like unemployment or a death in the family, then your ovulation might suffer. Stress hormones such as cortisol disrupt signalling between the brain and the ovaries, which can trip up ovulation.
Recent studies have found links between levels of stress and lowered chances of pregnancy. For example, women whose saliva had high levels of alpha-amylase, an enzyme that marks stress, took 29% longer to get pregnant compared to those who had less values.
Women struggling with infertility have the same levels of anxiety and depression as women diagnosed with cancer or HIV, according to another study. As a result, a vicious cycle starts. And as months go by without conception, stress may kick in. This can cause other changes in lifestyle like
- Sleep too much or sleep too little
- Have a harder time sticking to healthy eating habits
- Skip your regular exercise or push yourself to exercise too much
- Drink too many alcoholic drinks
- Smoke (or if have you quit smoking, start smoking again)
- Drink too much caffeine, especially if you’re sleep-deprived
- Lose interest in having sex
It is important for women and their partners to talk and to listen to each other about their shared struggles. That can help ease the mental and emotional toll from infertility.
