Sleep, sugar, stress, supplements: Fertility Specialist Dr Payal Jaiswal reveals their link to a successful IVF journey

Sleeping well, managing blood sugar, reducing stress, and taking the right supplements can improve your IVF experience and support overall well-being.

IVF is a carefully monitored medical treatment involving ovarian stimulation, scans, medicines, egg retrieval, fertilization, and embryo transfer. While these steps form the core of treatment, a patient’s general health and day-to-day well-being also deserve attention during an IVF cycle. Four areas are particularly useful to keep in mind: sleep, sugar management, stress support, and supplements. These four ‘S’s do not treat infertility or guarantee better IVF outcomes. Still, they can help patients remain better supported physically and emotionally better supported while treatment is underway.

Sleep: Give your body enough time to recover

Can stress affect egg quality during IVF? How many injections for 1 IVF cycle? (Shutterstock)

By Tavishi Dogra

Tavishi Dogra is a Deputy Chief Content Producer, Health & Wellness, at Hindustan Times. She has over 9 years of experience writing about fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, translating medical research and expert insights into practical advice readers can trust.

Career journey and experience
Tavishi began her health journalism journey in 2017, and has since reported for RSTV, Financial Express, Jagran, HT Media Labs and Zee. She joined Hindustan Times to simplify wellness subjects by cutting through jargon.

From decoding health trends and interviewing doctors to testing fitness routines herself, Tavishi always approaches content with one filter: “Will this help someone make a better decision today?”

Subject expertise
With 9+ years tracking India’s health conversations, Tavishi knows the gap between clinical advice and daily life. She knows fads from fundamentals and curates science-backed, expert-recommended solutions.

In fitness, she breaks down bodyweight training, recovery, and posture fixes for desk-bound readers. In nutrition, she translates guidelines into affordable, desi meal tweaks. In mental well-being, she focuses on stigma-free, actionable tools — all backed by research, expert input, and lived context.

Education and professional background
Tavishi holds a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and began her career reporting on public affairs for broadcast. Those early years in policy and TV shaped how she writes today: fast, factual, and human-first.

Editorial Philosophy
I write with one single goal: To simplify health in a world full of noise by finding what’s actually doable, safe, and evidence-based for my readers. I test claims against research and user experiences. When all else fails, I speak to the expert who sees 50 patients a day, not the one with the most followers.

Read moreRead less

IVF can disrupt your usual routine. Early appointments, anxiety about results, and changes in your daily schedule can all affect sleep. “Try to maintain a regular bedtime and wake-up time and aim for adequate sleep rather than relying on catching up later,” Dr Payal Jaiswal, Fertility Specialist at Birla Fertility & IVF in Indore, tells Health Shots. While getting more sleep cannot guarantee better IVF results, being well rested can make it easier to cope with the physical and emotional demands of treatment.

Sugar management: Keep meals balanced

Blood sugar deserves particular attention in women with PMOS, insulin resistance or diabetes, as these conditions can affect metabolic and hormonal health. Regular, balanced meals containing protein, vegetables, fiber-rich carbohydrates and healthy fats can help maintain steadier energy levels. Gentle physical activity, such as walking, may also be useful when appropriate and permitted by the treating doctor.

Stress support: Treatment can be emotionally demanding

There is often pressure to “stay positive” during IVF. Still, patients should not feel that being anxious or upset will determine whether their treatment works. Fertility treatment is stressful, and those emotions are understandable. This could mean speaking with a counselor, practicing relaxation or breathing exercises, staying connected with people you trust, or simply giving yourself some time away from fertility-related conversations and online content.

Supplements: More does not always mean better

Other vitamins or supplements may be advised depending on nutritional status, medical history, deficiencies, and the individual treatment plan. This is one area where patients should be particularly careful about taking advice from social media. Supplements marketed for egg quality, fertility or hormone balance are not automatically necessary or appropriate for everyone. Patients should therefore tell their fertility specialist about all vitamins, supplements and herbal products they are taking before starting IVF.

The 4 ‘S’ IVF checklist

During an IVF cycle, it can help to keep a few basics in mind:

• Maintain regular and adequate sleep.
• Keep meals balanced and manage blood sugar appropriately, particularly with PMOS, insulin resistance, or diabetes.
• Have a support system for the emotionally difficult days.
• Take only those supplements that have been discussed with your doctor.
• Continue prescribed medicines and follow the IVF schedule carefully.
• Discuss major changes in diet, exercise, or supplements with your fertility team.

IVF outcomes depend on several factors, including age, ovarian reserve, sperm parameters, embryo development, and individual reproductive health. Lifestyle measures cannot replace fertility treatment or overcome every biological factor. But looking after sleep, nutrition, emotional well-being, and appropriate supplementation can help you stay better prepared, both physically and mentally, for the process. The goal is to give your body the basic support it needs while your fertility team takes care of the medical side of treatment.

(Disclaimer: At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up to date with the latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has an affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. We shall not be liable for any claim under applicable laws, including but not limited to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with respect to the products. The products listed in this article are in no particular order of priority. They were provided to HT Shop Now by the brand for testing and evaluation. Our opinions remain independent and based on our personal experience with the items. Please patch test the products before use.)