More ‘love hormone’ may help millions of women sleep better

By Stephen Beech

The "love hormone" oxytocin could be used to treat millions of women suffering from disrupted sleep, suggests new research.

It may reduce mood changes that confuse sleep patterns after having a baby and during menopause, say scientists.

Oxytocin - often called “the love hormone” - may play a "protective" role in mood disturbances triggered by sleep loss and hormonal shifts during major reproductive transitions, according to the study.

Researchers studied the combined impact of sleep interruption and oestrogen suppression on mood and oxytocin levels in healthy premenopausal women.

Their findings suggest that oxytocin may help reduce the negative mood effects brought on by fragmented sleep.

Study author Dr. Irene Gonsalvez said: “We found that oxytocin levels rise in response to stress-related sleep disruption, and that women with higher oxytocin levels before disrupted sleep experienced less mood disturbance the next day.

“These results point toward oxytocin as a potential biological buffer during periods of hormonal and emotional vulnerability.”

Women frequently experience disrupted sleep after giving birth and during menopause, which are associated with sharp hormonal fluctuations.

But Dr. Gonsalvez says the disturbances are often minimised or seen as routine inconveniences.

The new study provides fresh biological evidence that such sleep interruptions are linked to meaningful changes in emotional health, and that oxytocin may serve as an important protective factor.

For the study, 38 healthy premenopausal women completed two five-night inpatient protocols: one during a natural hormonal state and another after oestradiol suppression.

After two nights of uninterrupted sleep, the research team fragmented participants’ sleep for three nights to simulate patterns commonly experienced after giving birth and menopause.

Mood disturbance and oxytocin levels were assessed throughout.

Dr. Gonsalvez says the findings indicated that sleep interruption "significantly" increased both mood disturbance and oxytocin levels, and that higher oxytocin levels before sleep disruption were linked to reduced mood disturbance the following day.

Higher incidences of mood disturbance associated with sleep disruptions were also linked to increased oxytocin levels the next day.

Dr. Gonsalvez, associate psychiatrist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said: “Millions of women struggle with mood symptoms during reproductive transitions, yet treatments often focus narrowly on antidepressants or hormone therapy."

She added: “Understanding oxytocin’s potential as a natural mood modulator could help us better support women’s mental health during these times.”

The findings were presented at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California.