Introducing Noctera – Bonafide’s New Supplement for Managing Sleep Disruptions from Hormonal Changes

Menopause |
9 min read

Written By

Corey Whelan

Published

February 19, 2026

Medically reviewed by

Alyssa Dweck MS, MD, FACOG, MSCP, Chief Medical Officer

Picture this. It’s the middle of the night, and you’re wide awake with racing thoughts that just won’t quit. If you’re in menopause or perimenopause, hormonal changes may be behind your overactive, busy mind. For women traversing the menopause transition, sleeplessness is often a common complaint. In fact, hormonal sleep disruptions, and diminished sleep quality, have been shown to affect over 60% of postmenopausal women.¹

Problems with sleep often start during perimenopause, the 2-10 years leading up to menopause, with studies demonstrating that up to 42% of women may experience sleep disruptions and poor sleep quality during this transitional time.²

Over-the-counter supplements designed for sleep support may help those struggling with sleep issues, but they don’t necessarily address the impact that hormonal fluctuations, especially those experienced during perimenopause and menopause, have on sleep.

“During menopause, the signals associated with sleep in the brain are often thrown off balance. The volatility and then stark decline in estrogen and progesterone experienced during this time leads to increased excitatory brain activity and decreased calming activity. This often manifests as a “busy mind,” one that keeps perimenopausal and postmenopausal women up at night,” explains Andrew Green, Director of Product Marketing at Bonafide.

In this article, we’ll dive more into the causes behind menopause sleep disturbances and introduce you to our newest innovation, Noctera, which has been designed to help improve sleep quality, enabling women to sleep better through the night,* during menopause and beyond.

Does Menopause Cause Sleep Disruptions?

“Sleep disruption during the menopause transition is, in part, due to hormonal changes,” explains Bonafide Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alyssa Dweck. She goes on to describe that the most common complaint menopausal women often mention during office visits are nocturnal awakenings, and subsequent difficulty falling back to sleep. “WASO, or wakefulness after sleep onset,” can be disruptive and exhausting,” she adds.

When estrogen levels decline during menopause, serotonin, a neurotransmitter found in the brain, also dips. This can increase feelings of anxiety and depression, which may, in turn, exacerbate stress and worry, especially in the middle of the night.³

In addition to changes in mood, lowered levels of estrogen can contribute to sleep disrupting night sweats. “The multifactorial nature of sleep disturbance during the menopause transition makes management of this symptom set challenging. While vasomotor symptoms, like night sweats, can cause trouble falling or staying asleep for some, other physiological and psychological factors are also at play,” says Dr. Dweck. For example, sleep apnea and restless legs are other sleep disruptors associated with both low estrogen and progesterone that occur during menopause;⁴ if you’re experiencing any of these issues, it’s imperative that you speak with your healthcare provider as Noctera does not help with these conditions. Additionally, many women may experience sleep disturbances outside of those listed above, which is why it’s so difficult to manage this symptom set, especially during the menopause transition

Progesterone’s natural calming effect is also reduced during the menopause transition, and cortisol, a known stress hormone, increases during this time. This may worsen feelings of anxiety, and further erode sleep quality.⁵

Melatonin, a hormone that supports the regulation of the sleep-wake cycle, also known as our circadian rhythm, also declines with age. The result of all of these hormonal changes can be nocturnal awakenings, difficulty falling asleep, and a busy mind that just won’t shut down in the middle of the night, preventing you from staying asleep, or falling back to sleep after waking.⁶

A consistent lack of sleep or poor sleep can translate into exhausting days. If you’re not sleeping well, you may feel irritable, cranky, or short-tempered. This can adversely affect your relationships, and your ability to function optimally at work. Poor sleep quality is such a common complaint among perimenopausal and menopausal women, that we knew we had to do something to find an effective solution. Enter Noctera, Bonafide’s new product designed to help address this all-too-common problem.

What is Noctera?

“Noctera is an oral, dietary supplement that has been clinically studied to improve sleep quality and help women sleep through the night. Its unique formula is designed to manage sleep disruptions caused by hormonal changes in midlife women,” details Dr. Dweck. “Noctera’s delayed release formula helps rebalance the body’s natural sleep signals, and helps to calm the mind, for relief that lasts throughout the night. It is designed be taken as two oral tablets, 60 minutes before bedtime,” she adds.

Noctera is hormone-free and has been shown in clinical studies to be safe when taken daily. It’s also designed to be non-sedating and non-groggy, which can better support the quality of your energy level during the day, as well as support improved sleep at night.

What Are the Ingredients in Noctera That Make It Effective?

“Noctera contains a patented formulation of active ingredients that are designed to help women with impaired sleep, by restoring the natural balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain. This allows for improved sleep quality during the menopause transition,” explains Jim Komorowski, MS, CNS, Chief Science Officer for Bonafide.

The unique combination of ingredients is what makes Noctera so effective. Here we’ll break down how the product’s active ingredients work to support better sleep during menopause and beyond:

Gamma-aminobutyric (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which has a calming effect on the brain. GABA is thought to improve sleep quality by reducing stress and anxiety.⁷
S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) is a naturally occurring compound found in the body. It helps produce and regulate hormones, and neurotransmitters like dopamine, which is known as a “feel-good” hormone. SAMe may be beneficial for mood regulation, and for alleviating depressed mood states.⁸ Additionally, SAMe helps the other ingredients in Noctera work more effectively by improving the functioning of the key receptors in the brain involved in the sleep-wake cycle.⁹
L-theanine is an amino acid which may promote relaxation, and selective attention. It’s thought to work by increasing alpha waves in the brain that work to reduce stress and anxiety and to improve sleep quality.¹⁰
Magnesium is a mineral that supports balance between excitatory and relaxing neurotransmitters in the brain. The proper amounts of magnesium in the body may help with alleviating racing thoughts that keep you from falling back to sleep in the middle of the night.¹¹

How Does Noctera Work?

When hormones, including estrogen, decline during menopause, abnormal GABA and glutamate activity in the brain may result. This can disrupt sleep and erode sleep quality.¹² Noctera has been designed and shown in clinical studies to rebalance brain signals to increase GABA, block glutamate and restore a more normal sleep pattern. By balancing out the brain’s neurotransmitters, Noctera also helps quiet the type of anxiety-filled, racing thoughts that can plague women during the night – often referred to as a “busy mind,” as mentioned earlier.

“Our clinical studies have shown that the ingredients in Noctera work synergistically to improve sleep quality in women. GABA and L-theanine bind to key receptors in the brain, to support higher sleep quality. SAMe helps restore the natural balance of key brain receptors, so that the GABA and L-theanine can be more effective. Magnesium is important as a co-factor for receptor binding, which also contributes to improved sleep,” Komorowski adds.

Noctera’s unique formula also isn’t designed to “knock you out,” the way sedatives can. It’s a non-groggy, continuous-action formula that’s meant to support better sleep quality, and a calmer mind, throughout the night.

How Does Noctera Compare to Other Supplements or Prescription Drugs for Menopause Sleeplessness?

Women have a variety of options when it comes to managing problems with sleep during menopause and beyond. These could include over-the-counter (OTC) solutions, like melatonin supplements or sleep aids like Zzzquil, as well as prescription-strength medications. If you’re struggling with sleep issues specifically during menopause, it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider so you can determine the best solution for your specific needs.

Unlike other supplements or OTC products designed to provide sleep support, Noctera has been formulated to specifically address sleep issues resulting from the hormonal changes experienced during the menopause transition.

Since this product is hormone free, Noctera does differ from sleep aids containing melatonin, a hormone that regulates your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin is not recommended for long-term, daily use,¹³ while Noctera can be used indefinitely.

It’s important to note that Noctera is not a sedative. Its mechanism of action differs from prescription drugs or OTC products that enhance grogginess or help with sleep onset. Noctera is not designed to cause drowsiness or help you fall asleep initially, but rather helps you get back to sleep and stay asleep as a product of calming the busy mind.

Does Noctera Help with Menopause Night Sweats?

It may be helpful to note that Noctera is not designed specifically to reduce hot flashes or night sweats, if these are the root cause of your sleepless nights. If you’re struggling with hot flashes during the day, or night sweats in the evening, you may benefit from bundling Bonafide’s Thermella® with Noctera. While both supplements target menopausal symptoms at their source, Thermella is specifically designed to provide safe and effective cooling relief from vasomotor symptoms, including night sweats, at the source.*

Talk with Your Healthcare Provider if Sleeplessness is Impacting You

Problems with sleep quality are one of the most challenging issues women face during perimenopause and menopause. Poor sleep can cause or exacerbate irritability, exhaustion, and reduced quality of life. When enough is enough, consider talking with your healthcare provider to determine what symptom management options, including Noctera, may be right for you.

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