How Are Your Hormones and Sleep Connected?

Sleep plays an important role in most aspects of health and wellness, including the regulation of hormones. Hormones are integral chemical messengers in the body that regulate many of its functions, systems, and processes.

The body requires a wide variety of different hormones at appropriate levels to function properly. When these hormones become imbalanced or reach a deficit, they can have adverse impacts on almost every aspect of an individual’s health and wellness.

Hormonal imbalances are responsible for growth, metabolism with appetite, sex drive, reproduction, blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, sleep-wake cycles, and more. Various hormone releases as well as hormone functions can be impacted by circadian rhythm and sleep. Similarly, sleep or circadian rhythm can be impacted by hormone release and function.

Adequate sleep plays an essential role in regulating cortisol, melatonin, estrogen, progesterone, and various hunger hormones. It is also important for growth hormones, thyroid hormones, and more. Most of the hormones in the body are released in response to the circadian rhythm.

Sleep is also important for these hormones, not only to be released and present but also to function effectively. Insufficient sleep can lead to an imbalance in several ways, including producing too much or too little of a specific hormone.

Hormonal imbalance can cause a wide range of deteriorating health and wellness outcomes, which can lead to feelings of excessive sleepiness and constant fatigue.

Excessive sleepiness can stem from a variety of causes. An overactive or underactive thyroid, for instance, can be a cause of fatigue, it is a hormone that controls the body’s metabolic rate. Cortisol is the stress hormone, and it plays an important role in keeping the body’s energy levels at appropriate levels.

Low levels of testosterone production are also associated with fatigue and tiredness. Estrogen imbalances can also lead to the onset of various symptoms, including fatigue. Hormonal imbalances can influence mood, wellness, and physical health, deterioration in any one of these can also lead to excessive sleepiness.

Several hormones are released during sleep, which is why it is an essential component of adequate hormone production, regulation, and functionality. Sleep essentially impacts all hormonal functions, with a good night’s sleep promoting positive health and wellness outcomes and a bad night’s sleep leading to more adverse consequences.

Melatonin is the hormone that is most commonly associated with sleep, which is low during the daytime and rises at night, leading to sleep. It is secreted by the pineal gland to drive the circadian rhythm production of the hormone.

This can help promote an adequate sleep-wake cycle, and individuals will have the best quality of sleep when the highest level of melatonin is in their bodies. When an individual has a healthy sleep-wake cycle, the body will begin producing melatonin around the time the sun goes down, leading to a steady increase in sleepiness until the individual goes to bed.

Production tends to continue into the night, helping individuals fall and stay asleep. Exposure to light inhibits the production of melatonin, which helps individuals feel alert when they wake.

Low estrogen levels are commonly associated with insomnia. Estrogen plays an important role in transmitting magnesium into tissues. Magnesium is essential for catalyzing the synthesis of melatonin as well as other important sleep neurotransmitters.

As a result, low estrogen levels can make it harder for individuals to both fall asleep and stay asleep. When estrogen levels decline, particularly alongside menopause, it may cause insomnia as well as hot flashes.

Women who experience hot flashes are more likely to experience sleep disturbances. For individuals experiencing insomnia due to low estrogen or any other causes, the best course of action is typically to consult with sleep experts such as those at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders.

Sleep services are available at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders. Visit us online now to learn more about our services and for directions to our locations! We also encourage everyone to visit us online to meet our team and to sign up for our special offers!