Stress, the Sinister Fertility Thief

There are two different types of Stress:

Eustress is a positive type of stress that improves our health and life. It is the way in which we push ourselves to try something new or improve at something we love. Getting engaged, buying a home, getting a promotion or new position – all these are examples of eustress

Distress is the type of stress that has a negative impact on our health and life. It’s an unwanted prolonged or severe level causes anxiety, pain or mental fatigue that can lead to agitation or anger, withdrawal or isolation.

When we refer to Stress, we are referring to Distress.  Stress puts us into our Sympathetic Nervous System (fight/flight/freeze). It diverts blood flow to skeletal muscles and away from the Parasympathetic Nervous System organs of rest, digest, detoxify, reproduce.

A stress response triggers the adrenals to produce

·       Cortisol, which interferes with downstream hormonal signaling.  Cortisol stimulates the release of blood sugars to prepare for a fight/flight response. 

·       The spike in blood sugar, in turn, spikes Insulin to manage blood sugars.  Insulin, while temporarily anti-inflammatory, can become chronically elevated, leading to insulin resistance and will over time become pro-inflammatory and trigger cytokine.

Why does this matter for fertility?   Because these inflammatory markers are present in follicular fluid – where your eggs are growing to ovulation!

A stress response also triggers the adrenals to produce

·   Adrenaline.   Adrenaline interferes with the brain’s production and release of Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH), which is like the conductor of the symphony of hormones needed for a healthy ovulatory cycle.  T

·    This can also interfere with Progesterone’s ability to support implantation.

What to do?  Lower Your Stress Threshold by putting into place practices that soothe physical, physiological and emotional state of well being.

Physical: Establish a sleep/wake schedule that allows your body to detoxify during sleep and circulate when awake.  This means a consistent bedtime, with sleep of 8 hours ideally between the hours of 11pm-7am or 10pm-6am.  Be sure to dim lights at dusk and turn off blue light electronics off at least one hour before bed.

Intentional movement such as TaiChi, Qigong, Yoga, walks in nature all help improve circulation.  And to improve blood flow to ovaries and uterus, targeted circulation such as Transcutaneous Electrical Acupoint Stimulation (TEAS) and photo biomodulation (PBMT) from the end of menstrual bleed through either ovulation (in a month where you are trying to conceive) or at egg retrieval in an IVF cycle, or straight through to Cycle Day 1 of your next cycle (in a month where you abstain from intercourse during your fertile window) are shown to improve outcomes, especially for women over 35 or who have had recurrent implantation failures in prior cycles. 

Physiological: This is why we recommend a 28-Day Gentle Detox, supporting your body’s natural detoxification and methylation pathways.  By paying attention to proper nutrition you can heal and fortify every tissue and cell in your body, right down to the follicle and egg growing within.  And because dehydration reduces ovarian reserve by reducing blood flow to ovaries, don’t forget to stay hydrated.  I usually suggest filling three 1-liter glass bottles each morning and setting a chime alarm for noon, 3 and 6 as a reminder to drink water.

Emotional:  This is personal to what brings you joy.  Are you someone who likes to meditate, or is a guided imagery app more likely to help focus your mind and soothe your nervous system?  Or is it journaling, listening to music, laughing with a friend?  All these increase levels of serotonin (happiness), dopamine (pleasure), GABA (relaxation), oxytocin (bonding/love) and are the best prevention!    If you are partnered, consider sharing these with your partner to amplify your shared experience. 

Can you see how much agency you have when it comes to managing stress?  When you put these practices into place now, you are best prepared for the inevitable bumps in the road that come and go, but you will not be rocked by them.  

All of these support structures are offered within modules at the Your Fertile Health Program at Health Youniversity.

If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us either by email at [email protected], or schedule your Fertility Assessment Call here.

Medical Disclaimer:

By listening to the Health Youniversity podcast, you agree not to use this podcast as medical advice to treat any medical condition for yourself or others. Consult your healthcare provider for any medical issues you may have. This entire disclaimer also pertains to any guests or contributors to any Health Youniversity podcast.