You may treat sleep as a footnote in your daily routine, pushing bedtime to watch more episodes or wrap up unfinished work. But for your body, sleep is central to keeping vital systems running and is one of the foundational pillars of overall health.
But, it is not only a lack of sleep that may matter. Sleep duration, timing, quality, and consistency can all influence fertility , while oversleeping may also be associated with poorer reproductive outcomes. So, how much sleep should you get when trying to conceive, and why does your bedtime matter? Dr Rajeev Agarwal, senior infertility specialist and director at Renew Healthcare, explained to HT Lifestyle how poor sleep may affect fertility in both women and men, and shared practical advice for those preparing for conception. This means that both insufficient and excessive sleep and fertility may be U-shaped. This means that both insufficient and excessive sleep are linked to poorer reproductive outcomes. “Research consistently links both short sleep, which is under six hours, and long sleep, which is over nine hours, to reduced fertility. So, sleeping for longer is not necessarily better either. Maintaining a balanced and consistent sleep duration may be more beneficial for reproductive health. The time at which you sleep also matters. Sleep timing is important too.
The expert said that the luteinising hormone (LH) surge, which helps trigger ovulation, occurs predominantly between midnight and 8 am during sleep. Because you are getting the recommended number of hours, you cannot assume that sleeping late and waking up late will make up for a delayed bedtime simply.
The relationship between sleep and fertility may be U-shaped, according to Dr Agarwal. Studies examining sleep in relation to time-to-pregnancy and IVF outcomes suggest that the lowest risk is associated with around seven to eight-and-a-half hours of sleep,” he said.
