[Etoile]

I just picked up "Honoring Our Cycles" at a warehouse sale--I had never heard of it but I saw the Nourishing Traditions art on the cover and had to get it (for $1! Score!) Looking on Amazon I see it is by the same woman who wrote "Garden of Fertility".
Anyways one of the things she talks about is sleeping in complete darkness except for the 3 days surrounding ovulation. It is wierd because I have heard about this from a number of different sources lately (saw that thread here on Lights Out and the Hybernation Diet). For all of my life I have slept with at least a night light and often with the overhead light on for 1/2 the night (hubby turns it off when he comes to bed--we have very different work schedules).
Anyway last night I rigged our room to be completely dark and I slept like a rock! I woke up so refreshed! There has to be something to this.
My question is, when she says to sleep with light for the 3 days around ovulation--how strong of a light are we talking about? Would just a nightlight work, you think? Has anybody else had experience with this darkness thing, any input?

TIA!

 

[TzippityDoulah]

interesting thought! I surely couldn't sleep with ANY lights on. I block out every single stream of light and it drives my husband nuts. but I just can't sleep in light at all. I would never sleept and feel totally exhausted the next day if i slept with a light on.

anyhow, I'm curious, why and how would sleeping in light while ovulating help though?

 

[bella_stranger]

are you living in the city or the country?
I imagine if you were out in "nature" you would sync. up with the moon pretty naturally by just leaving the curtains/blinds open.

 

[bella_stranger]

... meaning our bodies are meant to be ovulating around the full moon. interesting how the ancient pagan and goddess religions knew and honored this. full moons were the best time to get pregnant, and you were meant to avoid getting pregnant on "black moons" or new moons.

 

[Attached Mama]

Yup- it is to simulate the moon... If you live in a dark area, it's lovely to sleep by the light of the moon with total darkness at some times and wonderful moon light shining on your face at other times.

We moved in Nov and I HATE our street lights

 

[TzippityDoulah]

oh I see the connection! (I was totally NOT getting it before heh)

very interesting thought!

 

[Pirogi]

Marilyn Shannon talks about this in her book, Fertility Cycles and Nutrition. She says that some women's sensitivity to night lighting can cause scant cervical mucus, prolonged fertile mucus, short luteal phases, cycle irregularities, and infertility with regular cycles. Her main source is research done in 1985 by Joy DeFelice (The effects of light on cervical mucus patterns in the menstrual cycle: A clinical study; Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, WA). Shannon postulates that light affects the pineal gland which is responsible for secretion of hormones and serotonin. She says serotonin is only produced in abundant quantities in the light, and that without regular dark periods some people may have excess serotonin. She also cites Dr. Guy Abraham's theory that deficiencies of B vitamins and magnesium lead to elevated levels of serotonin, possibly because B vitamins and magnesium help a person synthesize dopamine, which lowers serotonin levels.

I dunno, but we shut out all light in our room a couple years ago, and I immediately noticed a difference in how I felt. I just keep my room dark all the time, no light periods, but someday I hope to live far enough away from town that I can just sleep with windows open (or a sky light! even better!).

 

[Koalamom]

I didnt read the other posts, but I just wanted to say that I was TTC for 9 months, and right after I tried the night lighting thing (next cycle) I got pregnant. I am now 25 weeks along!

 

[Etoile]

Well--I live in the city, so I can't sleep with the window open. (and it took me so long to get the blanket to block out 99.9% of the light so I don't want to take it off 3 days a month, LOL!) This is so interesting--it never occurred to me that me sleeping in the light could affect me so much.
bluebirdmama, WOW! That's awesome!

So, since the point is to mimic the moon--do you think I should get a white or blue-toned night-light or would any old nightlight do, you think?

 

[JTA Mom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bella_stranger ... meaning our bodies are meant to be ovulating around the full moon. interesting how the ancient pagan and goddess religions knew and honored this. full moons were the best time to get pregnant, and you were meant to avoid getting pregnant on "black moons" or new moons.

I've always ovulated on the New Moon and had my period on the Full moon. Always. Living in the city or out in the dark outer-burbs. So is my body somehow messed up? I seem to have little (knock on wood) problem getting pregnant. Maybe other women are more light sensitive than me?

Ami

 

[bella_stranger]

here is more info about full moons/ovulation/conception: http://www.gettingpregnant.co.uk/ful...-fertility.htm

Ami, I'm not sure! I think it's mostly folklore, but interestingly... I got pregnant just after a full moon, even with PCOS (polycystic ovaries, often with fertility problems).

Nowadays, my cycle is all over the place, varying from 30-40 days apart... maybe because I sleep right next to a window with a bright street lamp, but also my diet hasn't been spectacular (I think this makes the most difference in fertility).

 

[bella_stranger]

some fun tidbits: http://www.new-age.co.uk/moon-dates.htm

 

[Metasequoia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom I've always ovulated on the New Moon and had my period on the Full moon. Always. Living in the city or out in the dark outer-burbs. So is my body somehow messed up? I seem to have little (knock on wood) problem getting pregnant. Maybe other women are more light sensitive than me? Ami

Tom Cowan also says that if you're not ovulating with the full moon & bleeding with the new moon, your body is messed up.

 

[Metasequoia]

Well, he doesn't say, "your body is messed up."

I'm too lazy to get my copy off the shelf & look up exactly what he says - but essentially, he says that when we bleed with the new moon & ovulate with the full moon, everything's in balance.

As it happens, I'm on the same reverse schedule as you, Ami.

I've had our bedroom blacked out for years now because we have a big stupid streetlight right outside our window

:, but I don't allow light when I should be ovulating. I keep meaning to do that, but alas, it gets pushed to the back of my mind.

 

[mamadelbosque]

This is very interesting to me. I've always slept in the dark - except for the natural light of the moon, and can not sleep with a nightlight on, generally. I turn a lavalamp on for DS when I put him down but turn it off when I go to bed... it doesn't seem to bother DH though as its usually still on if he goes to bed first. We have two big windows and a skylight so we get a good bit of star/moonlight but are far enough out that there aren't any other lights nearby (closest neighbors are 7/10 of a mile up the road, half mile down it dead ends into a lake, nobody below us

.

ANYWHO... all that to say, I got pregnant in november of 08, and KNOW that happend on nov 17/18... the full moon was the 13th (I just looked it up out of curiosity), so it was still pretty darn full at that point. Interestingly, I estimate I got pregnant with DS ~ 16 or so of june in 06... and the full moon was the 11th that year.

 

[Pirogi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTA Mom I've always ovulated on the New Moon and had my period on the Full moon. Always. Living in the city or out in the dark outer-burbs. So is my body somehow messed up? I seem to have little (knock on wood) problem getting pregnant. Maybe other women are more light sensitive than me? Ami

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metasequoia Well, he doesn't say, "your body is messed up." I'm too lazy to get my copy off the shelf & look up exactly what he says - but essentially, he says that when we bleed with the new moon & ovulate with the full moon, everything's in balance. As it happens, I'm on the same reverse schedule as you, Ami. I've had our bedroom blacked out for years now because we have a big stupid streetlight right outside our window :, but I don't allow light when I should be ovulating. I keep meaning to do that, but alas, it gets pushed to the back of my mind.

In her book Marilyn Shannon talks about an African couple they counseled in NFP whose culture refers to menstruation as "in the moon" and seeks to conceive during the dark of the moon.

But then she recommends that if a woman doesn't show improved fertility cycles with just night darkness alone, the woman should introduce low lighting beginning two days after more fertile mucus is seen (mimicking the full moon around ovulation). I personally feel that a woman's cycle is unique, just like any other process of her body, and that a woman can have longer or shorter cycles than the average 28 days and still be completely in balance. So, these woman wouldn't correspond to lunar cycles. I don't do night lighting, but if I were to try it, I would use the four years' NFP experience I have and introduce lighting right around the time I know I am nearing ovulation. IMO the key is discovering your own balance and honoring your body's rhythms.