It's not something many PCOS practitioners think to ask during an assessment…but it's one of my first. That is, how well you sleep. Most women with PCOS are exhausted. They can't sleep at night and it's all they want to do all day. We did an informal survey a few years ago that surprised the sleep specialists I showed it to. Fully 85% of women with PCOS reported insomnia, sleepwalking, night eating, fibromyalgia, and/or early morning waking. We didn't even include obstructive sleep apnea, the sleep disorder most often associated with PCOS. What's going on? Melatonin, the chemical we tend to associate with making us sleepy, is also an extremely powerful antioxidant. It makes you sleepy so you slow down and rest while it does its main job…scrubbing up and cleaning up oxidative damage that has happened during the day. If you're under a lot of oxidative stress, it tends to want to kick in at odd hours…during the day. It's your brain's way of telling you that you need to slow things down, because it's gotten behind on the cleaning chores. When you are sleepy during the day, you are likely under stress. And if you have used up your melatonin stores during the day in an attempt to clean up the junk, there may not be enough to make you sleepy enough to fall asleep. What's a PCOS girl to do? --work on stress management --make sure your sleep hygiene practices are impeccable: turn off all digital equipment after 7:30 pm, keep the shades drawn to protect yourself from outdoor light, turn the alarm clock to face the wall so the light will not interfere with your hormones. Yes, you can take melatonin, and I've recommended it from time to time. But it's a bandaid solution. Your true answer is to start pulling yourself back into balance.