Does bone broth help with sleep disruption during perimenopause?

Bone broth is not a sleep medication, but it contains glycine, an amino acid that some research suggests may meaningfully improve sleep quality. During perimenopause, sleep disruption is one of the most common and most exhausting symptoms, driven largely by falling estrogen and progesterone levels that disrupt the brain signals that regulate your sleep-wake cycle.

The most relevant research here comes from a small Japanese randomized controlled trial by Inagawa and colleagues, which found that glycine supplementation improved subjective sleep quality, shortened the time it took people to fall asleep, and reduced next-day fatigue. The proposed mechanism involves two pathways. First, glycine appears to help lower core body temperature by expanding blood vessels near the skin, which is the same physiological process your body normally uses to initiate sleep. Second, glycine acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter at NMDA receptors in the brain, which may promote a calmer, more settled nervous system at night. Both of these effects are biologically plausible and relevant to perimenopause, when hot flashes and night sweats actively interfere with your body temperature regulation.

Perimenopause specifically disrupts sleep through several overlapping channels. Estrogen decline reduces rapid eye movement sleep and increases nighttime waking. Lower progesterone, which has a mild sedative quality due to its effect on GABA receptors, means you lose a natural calming signal. Night sweats triggered by hot flashes pull you out of deeper sleep stages. This is why dietary support that targets body temperature and nervous system calm may be relevant, even if the effect is modest.

Bone broth is a whole-food source of glycine. A cup of homemade bone broth made from collagen-rich bones simmered for several hours can contain a meaningful amount of glycine, though the exact content varies considerably. Commercial bone broths are often lower in glycine and collagen peptides than homemade versions, so checking the protein content on the label is a reasonable guide. Higher protein content generally reflects more collagen, and therefore more glycine. Drinking a cup of warm bone broth in the evening is a reasonable, low-risk practice that may also support the wind-down routine that good sleep hygiene depends on.

Bone broth is not a high-protein food in the way that meat or eggs are. A cup typically provides around 6 to 10 grams of protein. It works best as a complement to adequate protein across the day, not as a primary protein source. Combining it with an overall diet rich in magnesium (found in leafy greens, seeds, and legumes), tryptophan (turkey, eggs, dairy), and complex carbohydrates in the evening may support serotonin and melatonin production alongside the glycine pathway.

Quality varies significantly between products. Homemade broth from chicken feet, beef knuckles, or other collagen-dense bones will generally be richer in glycine than a shelf-stable commercial product. If you use commercial versions, look for products that gel when refrigerated, which indicates meaningful collagen content. Bone broth is high in sodium, so that is worth noting if you are managing blood pressure.

In terms of timeline, any dietary change for sleep tends to show effects over 2 to 4 weeks of consistent use. Sleep quality also fluctuates with your menstrual cycle during perimenopause, so try to assess patterns over a full month rather than week to week. You are unlikely to notice a dramatic overnight shift, but some people report feeling less wired at bedtime and waking less in the night with regular use.

See your healthcare provider if your sleep disruption is severe and persistent, if you are sleeping fewer than five hours most nights, if daytime functioning is significantly impaired, or if you are experiencing symptoms of sleep apnea such as waking with a gasp, loud snoring, or morning headaches. Sleep apnea becomes more common after menopause and is often underdiagnosed in women. Severe insomnia during perimenopause can also be addressed through cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or through hormone therapy, both of which have stronger evidence than dietary changes alone.

The PeriPlan app (https://apps.apple.com/app/periplan/id6740066498) lets you log sleep disruption daily so you can spot whether patterns shift over time.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not replace medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider about your specific situation.