By Charlotte Dormon, Health Writer
I have never been one of those women who simply fall asleep the moment their head hits the pillow and stay asleep until morning. Oh, goodness, I wish I were. I have so many friends and family members who tell me they drift off effortlessly and wake feeling restored, as if sleep just happens naturally for them. That has never quite been me. Even during my carefree teenage years, I recall having trouble sleeping and always waking up earlier than my friends.
I have always had a busy mind (also an ADHD diagnosis, which the doctor made me aware that the ease of sleep may have been a challenge all my life due to this). I also write, read, create, and think deeply. I feel things strongly. If something emotional has happened, if I have watched the news, if there is tension in my life, it does not just disappear at bedtime. It lingers. And when stress creeps in, my sleep is usually the first thing to unravel. If I watch a ‘scary movie’ at night, I will wake up worrying all night. My mind is just not great at switching off, as I am sensitive to stress.
There have also been periods in my life when this was particularly obvious. Work pressure, relationship changes, moving house, career shifts. Not catastrophic events, just life. But during those times, my nights would become fragmented. I would wake at 3 am with a racing mind, or lie there feeling utterly exhausted yet unable to switch off.
I also hear this from other women constantly. “I normally sleep fine, but as soon as I’m stressed, my sleep just goes out the window.” The irony is that we need sleep most during stressful periods. It is when the body repairs, hormones rebalance, neurotransmitters reset, and the brain processes emotional load. But stress disrupts the very systems that allow sleep.
The Science: Why Stress Plays Total Havoc With Your Sleep
Stress does not have to be dramatic to disrupt sleep. For many women, it is the subtle, ongoing pressure that does the damage. The mental load of a demanding job. The emotional weight of relationships. Financial worries are ticking quietly in the background. The effort of holding everything together. We push through during the day because we have to. We stay productive. We stay useful. We keep moving. Then we get into bed, the distractions fall away, and everything surfaces at once.
Physiologically, this is cortisol — your primary stress hormone — running high all day without a chance to decline properly. Under normal circumstances, cortisol rises in the morning to help you wake up and gradually falls through the evening. As it drops, melatonin rises, signalling that it is safe to sleep. But when stress is ongoing, even the quiet, undramatic kind, cortisol can remain elevated into the evening. The nervous system stays subtly alert. Your body may feel tired, but your brain remains switched on.
Chronic stress also fragments REM sleep, the stage responsible for emotional processing and nervous system recalibration. Without sufficient REM, the brain does not fully process the day’s experiences. You wake feeling wired rather than restored, which increases stress the following day.
For women, hormones add another layer. Oestrogen and progesterone influence stress sensitivity and sleep depth. When they fluctuate across the menstrual cycle or during perimenopause, the nervous system can become more reactive.
Of course, breathwork, ensuring I have enough exercise, daylight exposure and winding down properly all matter. I rely on all of those. But during intense periods, I have found that targeted nutritional support can make a powerful difference between constant broken sleep and more restful sleep, with greater ease of falling asleep, even if that means not many hours, but deeper, higher-quality sleep.
These are my seven tried-and-tested sleep-supportive supplements I return to when stress threatens to steal my sleep, and I have recommended them many times to women who have similar experiences of disrupted sleep when life gets a little too crazy. I am not suggesting you take them all at once. You can mix and match and find a routine that I hope supports your stress levels and helps you get a far more peaceful night’s sleep.
I am a big fan of functional mushrooms, so this was always going to be one of my go-to supplements.
Hifas da Terra is a practitioner-recommended medicinal mushroom company with more than 25 years of expertise. Their mushrooms are organic and carefully extracted, which really matters when you are working with adaptogens.
Equilibrium combines Reishi, Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps. Reishi is traditionally associated with calming the nervous system and supporting sleep quality. Lion’s Mane supports emotional balance and cognitive clarity when stress feels mental and overwhelming. Cordyceps supports adrenal regulation and sustainable energy, helping prevent the crash-and-wire pattern that can leave you exhausted but overstimulated.
I take two capsules during the day, usually with or just after breakfast. This is not a sedative, and it will not make you drowsy. It works earlier in the chain, helping regulate cortisol and support the stress response so that you are less likely to arrive at bedtime overstimulated.
A 12-week clinical study in women reported a 75 per cent improvement in sleep quality after daily supplementation.
2. Adaptogenic Apothecary Organic Ashwagandha Root Powder
Ashwagandha is one of the most researched adaptogenic herbs for stress regulation. It has been shown to help lower cortisol and improve resilience during periods of emotional or physical strain.
What I love about this version is that it is a powder rather than another capsule. You can mix it into warm oat milk, herbal tea, hot chocolate (my absolute favourite way!) or smoothies. I tend to use it daily during demanding periods. It helps regulate cortisol earlier in the day, allowing your natural evening rhythm to return.
Stress significantly depletes minerals, which are important for deep sleep. Magnesium, sodium and potassium are essential for nerve signalling, muscle relaxation and fluid balance. When these are low, you may notice tension, jaw clenching or that tight, wired feeling in your body.
I add 20 drops of elete electrolytes to my water during the day, particularly in the late afternoon. It allows me to stay properly hydrated without drinking excessive amounts before bed. Since using it consistently, I have noticed less physical tension and more stable sleep during stressful periods.
4. BetterYou Magnesium Max Powder
Magnesium is one of the first nutrients depleted by chronic stress. It supports GABA activity in the brain, helping calm neural stimulation, and plays a key role in muscle relaxation. If you grind your teeth or wake with tension headaches, magnesium deficiency may be contributing.
BetterYou Magnesium Max is a powder combining three forms of magnesium. It can be mixed into water and taken during the day or in the evening to support sleep and relaxation before bed. They have a plain or flavoured version. Personally, I enjoy the lemon and lime flavour, and I have it a couple of hours before bed.
Cherry Night is a great option if you have jet lag from travel. It comes as a soluble powder that you mix into water or juice about an hour before bed. It has a naturally pleasant cherry-and-red-date flavour, making it easy to take.
It combines Morello cherries, a natural source of melatonin, with glycine to support deeper sleep and a calmer nervous system. Magnesium citrate supports relaxation, and red date extract is traditionally associated with emotional steadiness.
Bee Rested is the one I pack first if I’m travelling or staying away from home. Because they’re capsules, they’re easy to take anywhere. I reach for these if I’m feeling particularly anxious or wired before bed. I always use it when I am out late at night and feel like I need something to help me sleep if I am too wired to drift off.
The formula combines glycine and magnesium for relaxation, chamomile, lavender and hops to calm overstimulation, and Griffonia seed extract to support serotonin and melatonin production.
And So To Bed
Sleep is fundamental to our mental health and overall well-being. When you cannot sleep, especially when stress is the underlying cause, it can begin to affect both your mental and physical health.
If you are currently relying on sleep medication that leaves you feeling groggy the next day, I truly hope this article offers alternative options to explore. Natural support can be incredibly powerful when used thoughtfully. And if you are struggling right now, please know you are not alone.
Wishing you a peaceful night’s sleep.
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