Key takeaways:
- During reproductive transitions, high levels of oxytocin may protect against negative mood effects due to sleep disturbance.
- Behaviors to increase oxytocin levels may be beneficial.
SAN FRANCISCO — During reproductive transitions such as postpartum and menopause, a high level of oxytocin may reduce negative mood effects brought on by sleep disturbance, researchers reported at ENDO 2025.
Irene Gonsalvez, MD, associate psychiatrist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues observed 38 healthy premenopausal women (mean age, 30 years) during two 5-night inpatient stints. One occurred during a natural hormonal state and one occurred after estradiol suppression.
High oxytocin levels may reduce negative mood effects stemming from sleep disturbances. Image: Adobe Stock
“Oxytocin, also called ‘the love hormone,’ [has] a protective role against mood disturbances that women experience during reproductive transitions as a consequence of sleep interruption,” Gonsalvez told Healio.
Irene Gonsalvez
During each 5-night protocol, the women had 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep and 3 nights of fragmented sleep to stimulate patterns seen in postpartum and menopause. Throughout each protocol, the researchers measured oxytocin levels by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and assessed for mood disturbances using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) score, with a higher score being worse.
Across both estradiol states, sleep interruption elevated mood disturbances, as the POMS score rose from 5.5 to 12.3 (P < .0001), and oxytocin levels, which rose from 28.7 pg/mL to 36.4 pg/mL (P = .002), the researchers found.
Across both sleep conditions, estradiol suppression increased the POMS score and oxytocin levels, but the differences were not significant, Gonsalvez and colleagues found.
When measured before sleep interruption, higher oxytocin levels correlated with better POMS score (Cohen’s d = 0.14; P = .095), but when measured after sleep interruption, higher oxytocin levels correlated with worse POMS score (Cohen’s d = 0.024; P = .01), according to the researchers.
“Sleep interruption worsens mood and increases oxytocin levels,” Gonsalvez told Healio. “We saw that … higher oxytocin levels before a night of sleep interruption was correlated with better mood. Higher oxytocin potentially protects against mood disturbances. We also saw that worse mood prior to sleep interruption correlated with higher oxytocin levels because your body is trying to compensate.
“Anything that could increase oxytocin” should be encouraged, including “emotional bonding, physical touch, hugging, eye contact,” Gonsalvez told Healio. “We need to understand more about the role of oxytocin as a natural mood modulator. That could potentially improve women’s mental health.”
For more information:
Irene Gonsalvez, MD, can be reached at igonsalvez@bwh.harvard.edu.
Sources/Disclosures
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Gonsalvez I, et al. Abstract SAT-127. Presented at: ENDO annual meeting; July 12-15, 2025; San Francisco.
Disclosures:
Gonsalvez reports no relevant financial disclosures.
