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The Period Party Podcast · EP. 80 · September 27, 2021

Bio-identical Hormones Versus Traditional Hormone Replacement Therapy

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podcast guest

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Candace Burch is the founder of Your Hormone Balance and a founding member of Women in Balance, one of the first nonprofits in the country to advocate for women’s hormone health. Her goal is to help people naturally rebalance their hormones to relieve symptoms and restore balance in their lives. Candace has spent the last 30 years as a health educator, journalist, and women’s health advocate raising public awareness about natural hormone health, including lobbying senators on Capitol Hill for safe access to bio-identical alternatives to hormone replacement therapy.

In this episode, we talk about the shocking statistics around negative side effects from traditional hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the changes that are being made in the US approach to HRT, the crucial role of compounding pharmacists in the development of safe bio-identical hormone compounds, what you can do if you think you’re suffering from hormone imbalance, and so much more!

Episode Highlights

Resources Mentioned

Fix Your Period

How Fix Your Period Addresses Hormonal Sleep Disruption

Sleep and hormones are bidirectionally connected — disrupted sleep worsens hormonal imbalances, and hormonal imbalances disrupt sleep. Fix Your Period helps you address both sides of the equation.

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Sleep & Symptom Tracking

Track sleep quality, waking patterns, night sweats, and how sleep changes throughout your cycle — the data that reveals your hormonal sleep pattern.

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Hormone Health Assessment

Take Nicole's free Hormone Health Assessment and get personalised results that reveal the hormonal patterns most likely to be disrupting your sleep.

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Sleep Support Protocol

Fix Your Period Premium includes Nicole's sleep support protocol — covering progesterone support, cortisol regulation, blood sugar balance at night, and evidence-based sleep hygiene.

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Hormone-Sleep Education

Nicole's signature Period Pillars cover the relationship between progesterone, cortisol, blood sugar, and sleep — explaining why so many women with hormonal imbalances also have sleep problems.

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Nicole.AI

Fix Your Period Premium includes Nicole.AI — trained on Nicole's methodology — giving you personalised guidance on addressing the hormonal drivers of your sleep disruption.

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Personalised Protocol

Fix Your Period Premium unlocks your personalised protocol from your assessment results — a targeted starting point for improving sleep through hormonal balance.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions from this episode — and how Fix Your Period can help.

Why do hormones affect sleep?
Progesterone has direct sleep-promoting effects — it acts on GABA receptors and promotes feelings of calm and drowsiness. Low progesterone (common in the luteal phase and perimenopause) frequently causes insomnia or waking at 2–3am. Elevated cortisol, blood sugar instability, and declining estrogen in perimenopause also directly disrupt sleep architecture.
Why do so many women wake at 2–3am?
Waking at 2–3am is often a blood sugar issue. As blood sugar drops overnight, the body releases cortisol and adrenaline to raise it — which wakes you up. This is worsened by eating refined carbohydrates at night or skipping protein before bed. Low progesterone can also cause night waking by reducing GABA activity.
How does the menstrual cycle affect sleep?
Sleep quality tends to be best in the follicular phase (after menstruation). As progesterone rises in the luteal phase, some women actually sleep more deeply. However, the drop in progesterone just before menstruation — combined with the prostaglandin release — is when sleep is most likely to be disrupted.
Is there an app that helps with hormonal sleep problems?
Yes. Fix Your Period's free assessment identifies the hormonal patterns most likely to be affecting your sleep. Fix Your Period Premium unlocks Nicole's sleep support protocol, Period Pillars education on the hormone-sleep connection, and Nicole.AI for personalised guidance.
What supplements help with hormonal sleep disruption?
Nicole's sleep protocol covers: magnesium glycinate (calming and sleep-promoting), B6 (supports progesterone production), ashwagandha and other adaptogens for cortisol regulation, and a protein-rich evening snack to stabilise overnight blood sugar.
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