I hope you all are not tired of my drumming into you the importance of sleep! This time, I want to look at a study about menopause. A 7 1/2 year study (which really is long and not common to see), discovered that administering melatonin delayed the events of menopause.
If you think of melatonin as one of the body's most powerful (potentially THE most powerful) antioxidant, this makes sense.
What does this have to do with PCOS? My personal feeling is that seeing all the symptoms of PCOS in the age demographic I've watch those symptoms drift down to means I'm seeing old people walk around in young peoples' bodies. I've been in this field for 26 years now, and when I first started out, it was rare to see anyone with insulin resistance or diabetes who was younger than the age of 40.
Fast forward to 5 years ago when I worked with a 9 year old girl. Not only was she insulin resistant, but she was complaining of joint pain that sounded like arthritis, hair loss, and memory problems at school. That's when the lightbulb went off for me. In at least a few cases, it seems as though PCOS is what happens when diseases of old age creep into the reproductive system.
The way we live, which is hard, fast, and with the expectation that pills and procedures can make up for those choices, eventually catches up with us. Pay attention to a few simple things which involve better balance and self care…and we can put off some of the yucky parts about having more birthdays under our belts.
The good news is, if you decide to take action, much of this can reverse. I received an excited phone call not too long ago from a colleague who's been through my PCOS training. She told me that the last 5 clients who she'd advised regarding their infertility had all become pregnant. One of them had failed with in vitro fertilization and was beginning to resign herself to the possibility that she'd never have kids.
My colleague's caveat: The clients who succeed are the ones who are willing to do the work.
We had a discussion about how being a dietitian working in reproduction is really a challenging proposition. Practically everyone else who offers a solution is the one who does the work, while the patient is relatively passive. It can create the impression that fertility is something you can have, if you have enough money to throw at the best experts out there.
Pay someone else to do the work? Do some work yourself? We've really got a hard sell.
But when I received this phone call I literally had chills. All this studying, writing, promoting, training, stressing over how we're going to get this program to take hold…for those five new lives, is completely worth it.
Trust me, it took me awhile to admit to myself, and I do this for a living, that I could improve on my own habits. But as I've realized how much better I feel, I've become very protective of my sleep. I'm rarely even awake anymore to watch the evening news. And when I miss my sleep, I can really see what it does to my body. I'm spacy, moody, stiff, I crave sweets, and I am lethargic. I'm not nearly as creative or productive.
I've also started imposing a rule on myself, if I don't have a good night's sleep, I don't work out the next day. I do go for a walk, but I focus on stress management and I try to time my activity so that I can get some ultraviolet light and hopefully correct my sleep clock. But I've learned, at least for myself, that when I push it, and expect to be able to work long hours AND exercise AND socialize, etc., etc., etc., something always gives.
Maybe that's the good part of having more birthdays under my belt…some wisdom has funally sunk in.
Diaz BL, Llaneza PC. Endocrine regulation of the course of menopause by oral melatonin: first case report. Menopause. 2008 Mar-Apr;15(2):388-92.