Many couples often experience anxiety while struggling with conception especially if you experience infertility or failed infertility treatments. Some studies even suggest that stress may negatively affect fertility, while meditation may improve pregnancy outcomes.
Positive effects of relaxation programs such as meditation, mindfulness classes, and behavioral coping & skill training have been shown to reduce stress and lower anxiety.
What Are Benefits of Meditation?
- Balanced Hormones, reduced Cortisol (stress hormone)
- Reduced Stress and Anxiety
- Better Relationship Coping
- Increased Compassion Skills for and better management of Stressful Situations
Sleep, Pregnancy and Balanced Hormones
You may not realize that your sleep matters and has an impact on your chances of fertility. One reason is that long-term sleep loss can affect your ovulation cycles. Release of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) triggers ovulation and can be imbalanced if your sleep pattern is disrupted. Often this leads to irregular menstrual cycles, making it more difficult to become pregnant.
How Can I Relax and Sleep Better When Trying to Get Pregnant?
Meditation is one answer to this problem. Often those with disrupted sleep cycles participate in a meditation program and afterwards experience a decrease in stress and anxiety and can sleep more normally.
Relaxation techniques can be learned in addition to meditation. These have both been shown to significantly reduce anxiety in women undergoing infertility treatment. In addition, yoga, hatha and progressive muscle relaxation have all contributed to a healthier pregnancy outlook. We encourage you to try all of these and find the ones that work best for you.
Additional Integrative Strategies for Fertility
- Acupuncture
- Yoga
- Hypnosis
- Massage
- Reiki