I get asked quite a lot about progesterone and sleep and whether or not the hormone progesterone can help people with insomnia.
One of the main issues I see is that both men and women think that progesterone is a hormone only for women. I’ve heard people tell me that estrogen and progesterone are for women and testosterone is for men.
The truth is that both men and women produce all the sex hormones like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, androgen, estradiol, estrone, estriol, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, and 2-methoxyestradiol.
Both sexes make all these hormones just in different amount and ratios to each other. Women produce testosterone and men produce estrogen, just in much lesser amounts.
All that to say that progesterone for men will definitely help with your sleep issues. I take it and I’m a man. 🙂
First I feel like we should talk about what progesterone actually is, which I’ll get into below.
But first, I’m going to be sharing some quotes in this progesterone and sleep article from one of my mentors Dr. Ray Peat who in my opinion was the world’s authority on using progesterone for men and women in a multitude of ways for a multitude of health conditions, not just insomnia.
“Many of the changes caused by daily stresses are reversed during deep slow wave sleep. The amount of slow wave sleep is decreased with aging. A few animal studies have found that artificially extended sleep reversed some of the major problems of old age. Progesterone is able to increase the amount of slow wave sleep, probably because of its effect on body temperature” – Dr. Ray Peat
What is Progesterone & Benefits
Progesterone is critical hormone produced by the ovaries, that is essential for fertility and maintaining a healthy pregnancy. A healthy pregnancy these days is almost a thing of the past.
Because progesterone is a pro-gestational hormone many people think that it’s just for women or just a hormone to take during pregnancy. Nothing can be further from the truth. I’m a man I take progesterone twice per day. I’ll share a bit more about that below.
Progesterone is the perfect compliment to estrogen to help regulate hot flashes (for women dealing with menopause or perimenopause), and insomnia during pregnancy which seems to be a big issue.
I’ve read many studies showing how progesterone may help relieve anxiety, improve memory, protect brain cells, and even prevent epileptic seizures.
One hormone can do all of that?
Yes!
It also promotes respiration and has been used to correct emphysema.
In your circulatory system, progesterone “may” increase the tone of blood vessels, preventing bulging veins and improving heart efficiency. It also reverses many signs of aging in the skin, promotes healthy bone growth, and can relieve various types of arthritis and immunological problems. When taken with food, its absorption occurs at the same rate as the digestion and absorption of the food, making sure it is effective once inside your body.
The more you learn about progesterone the more you think how magical it really is.
“It has been suggested (Sanford, et al., 1993) that the presence of these waves in REM sleep indicates that the brain is in a state of more-or-less continual orienting. When progesterone is given during sleep, it increases the amount of REM.” – Dr. Ray Peat
How To Apply It
Oral Administration
I use both oral and topical progesterone for sleep and overall healthy on a daily basis. I’ll buy a bottle of oral progesterone and when that is done I’ll purchase a topical product. Normally I’ll do a few drops a day under my tongue for best results. This makes the bottle last a long time.
- Absorption: When progesterone is dissolved in vitamin E and taken orally, it can be absorbed through the walls of the stomach and intestine. This is cool because it allows it to be assimilated along with food in the chylomicrons, which makes it circulate in the blood to all organs before being processed by the liver. Pretty cool right?
- Efficacy: Oral progesterone in tocopherol (vitamin E) composition has shown in studies I’ve read to be several times higher potency compared to powder form. It is effective and economical for general purposes.
- Usage: A few drops on the lips and tongue or rubbing it into the gums can quickly enter the bloodstream through these thin membranes.
Topical Administration
When I’m using the topical progesterone I typically will apply one pump to an area of my body with thin skin. This could be my wrists, near my radial and ulnar arteries or my perinium. I like to mix up where I apply it so each day is different. You can see what works best for you.
- Application: Progesterone in vitamin E can be applied locally for conditions like tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, and sunburn. I’ve never used it for any of those conditions since I don’t have those problems but if I did, I’d definitely use it in that way. I’d also use progesterone for sleep if I still had insomnia. I like it because topically it enters the bloodstream almost as soon as it contacts any membrane, such as the lips, tongue, gums, or palate.
- Absorption: When applied topically, it is absorbed directly through the skin and mucous membranes, providing localized relief and systemic effects.
“Since I had become a sound sleeper as soon as I began taking thyroid, and had seen that thyroid alone would cure most people’s insomnia (sometimes, as one doctor described his experience, better than morphine) I began to understand that the adrenalin which disturbed sleep was an indicator of defective energy production, and that the things which restored sleep—thyroid, salt, sugar, protein, and progesterone, for example—were acting directly on the cells’ energy production.” – Dr. Ray Peat
Best Form of Progesterone
Many people argue online about the best form of progesterone. I’ll hear people fighting about oral vs topical progesterone. Whenever I see two sides arguing like that, I usually take the middle path, like any good Buddhist. 🙂
I’ll split the difference do both of them. Like I mentioned before I’ll buy an oral product, then a topical product and go back and forth.
- Clinical Efficacy: Clinical comparisons indicate that the tocopherol composition (oral form) has several times higher potency than the powder form.
- Convenience: Oral administration allows for easy and controlled dosing, while topical application can be beneficial for localized treatment and quick absorption.
“I have recommended salty foods at bedtime to promote sleep, because of sodium’s recognized anti-adrenalin effect. There are some complicated ways of thinking about its effect on adrenalin, as there are for explaining its thermogenic effect, but the simple fact that it is needed for absorbing glucose can explain its ability to lower adrenalin (since adrenalin rises when glucose is needed) and to increase heat production.” – Dr. Ray Peat
How Progesterone Helps Sleep
Whether you’re a women with heavy periods, or who just gave birth progesterone can be a huge help when it comes to insomnia and sleep. I’m a 48 year old man and take progesterone daily. It’s one of my secret Swiss army knife weapons for sleep, health and longevity.
Here’s how progesterone helps with sleep
- Opposition to Cortisol: Progesterone helps to reduce the production of cortisol in your body, which is a stress hormone produced by your adrenal glands. Excessive cortisol can lead to lots of health issues, like poor sleep patterns. By reducing cortisol levels, progesterone can help improve sleep quality.
- Anti-Serotonin Effects: Quite a few studies have shown that anti-serotonin drugs improve sleep. Since progesterone has properties that also oppose serotonin, it can contribute to better sleep patterns.
- Thermoregulation: Regulating body temperature improves sleep, especially in older individuals who may have difficulty maintaining body heat. Progesterone helps in maintaining body temperature, which can lead to improved sleep.
- General Calming Effect: Progesterone is known for its calming and fulfilling properties, which can contribute to better sleep by reducing anxiety and helping with overall relaxation.
Key Points:
- Reduction of Cortisol: Progesterone helps in reducing stress and improving sleep quality.
- Anti-Serotonin Properties: Contributes to better sleep by opposing serotonin.
- Thermoregulation: Maintains body temperature, aiding in better sleep.
- Calming Effect: Promotes relaxation and reduces anxiety, leading to improved sleep.
Can you see why I’m such a huge fan of progesterone for sleep whether you’re a man or woman? In order to increase progesterone in your body, you have to supplement it either orally or topically.
“While many people think of thyroid as a kind of stimulant, because it can cure the coma or lethargy of myxedema, this is a very misleading idea. In hypothyroidism, the brain exciting hormones adrenalin, estrogen, and cortisol are usually elevated, and the nerve-muscle relaxant magnesium is low. Normal, deep sleep is rare in a hypothyroid person. The correct dose of trilodothyronine (the active thyroid hormone) with magnesium is a reliable treatment for insomnia, cramps, and anxiety, whether these symptoms are caused by fatigue, or aging, or alcohol withdrawal.” – Dr. Ray Peat
Where To Get Progesterone
If you follow Dr. Ray Peat and their “metabolic” or “bioenergetic” philosophy of health you’ll hear them talk about a product called Progest E. I’ve never been a fan of Progest E rather I take these two progesterone products:
“Since the normal person has sharp diurnal cycles of brain activity (reflecting a proper concentration of the brain amines) and many psychotics have flattened cycles, involving disturbed sleep as well as disturbed waking consciousness, cyclic light stimulation of skin and head might be desirable to support regular cyclic activity of the pineal gland and brain.” – Dr. Ray Peat
Conclusion
If you’re considering taking progesterone for sleep, I would highly recommend it. Always work with your natural doctor who knows hormones and can work with you directly. Each of us are in different stages of life where our hormones are behaving differently.
If you purchase some progesterone for sleep whether topical or oral, I’d love to see if it has helped in anyway fall asleep, stay asleep or allow you to avoid waking up in the middle of the night. Generally when I’m trying a new supplement like this I like to give at least 30 days of consistent use before I give up on it. Normally I give it 60 days of daily use to see if it has helped with my sleep.
I might keep either a daily journal of sleep symptoms when I first start taking it or a weekly sleep journal (like every Sunday night) just to see where I’m at. Sometimes results are subtle but they work without you knowing. Tracking your sleep in this way could help.
If this article about progesterone and sleep has been helpful please consider sharing it with a friend. 🙂
Questions:
- Have you taken progesterone for sleep yet?
- What form did you take it and for how long?
- What results (if any) did you notice and how long did it take?
Comment below!
