The use of hormonal contraception is associated with impaired subjective sleep in women, according to a new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research.

“Studying sleep in reproductive women is a challenge, considering the almost complete lack of data in this area. The majority of scientific studies in sleep medicine (and many other fields) avoid studying women because the menstrual cycle is a variable that is hard to control and to account for,” explained study author Andréia Gomes Bezerra, a biomedical researcher in the Department of Psychobiology at the Federal University of São Paulo.

“However, this population needs information about their health. As the use of hormonal contraception is disseminated in a large proportion of women, it is necessary to understand how it works and how it affects sleep and quality of life.”

For their study, the researchers surveyed 918 women currently taking hormonal contraceptives and 368 women who were not. All the participants were between the ages of 18 and 40, and had not changed their contraceptive habits for at least 3 months.

Hormonal contraceptive users reported more sleep-related problems, increased excessive daytime sleepiness, and more insomnia symptoms compared to non-users.

“It is well-known that hormonal contraceptives have a lot of side effects. Though we still need some more research, we might include worse sleep quality in this list,” Bezerra told PsyPost.

“Our study found that levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine devices were associated with less sleep complaints than oral contraceptive pills. Thus, if a woman has some insomnia symptoms or sleep complaints, she should consider talking with her physician about changing the medication.”

But like all research, the study includes some limitations.

“Our study had a cross-section design. For this reason, we were not able to conclude if these substances were actually causing sleep problems. Our data are preliminary; we are working in a project to test the effects of hormonal contraceptives in a clinical trial,” Bezerra explained.

The study, “Hormonal contraceptive use and subjective sleep reports in women: An online survey“, was authored by Andréia Gomes Bezerra, Monica Levy Andersen, Gabriel Natan Pires, Carolina V. Banzoli, Daniel Ninelo Polesel, Sergio Tufik, and Helena Hachul.