Understanding How Key Hormones Control Your Health
We’re all hormonal. The body produces over 50 hormones that influence our mental and physical health every day. Male or female, our hormones control a lot more than sexuality and fertility. These chemical messengers—our internal Wi-Fi—send signals from the glands where they’re produced to cells throughout the body, influencing mood, sexual health, stress levels, metabolism, appetite, blood sugar, and sleep cycles.
In short, hormones control a lot of vital bodily functions—they’re a big deal. And if you don’t keep them balanced, they’ll control your life.
So, let’s take a closer look at how hormones affect your health.
For starters, what are hormones?
What Are Hormones?
Hormones are special chemicals produced by glands that make up the endocrine system. The chemical messengers travel throughout the bloodstream, helping to turn on or turn off various cellular processes that control important bodily functions.
Here are some key hormones that affect your overall well-being every single day...
Serotonin: The Happy Hormone
Serotonin, the happy hormone, influences memory, learning, happiness, sleep, and hunger. Normal serotonin levels help you stay focused, joyful, satiated, and calm. Low serotonin levels cause fogginess, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, and overeating.
Dopamine: The Feel-Good Hormone
Dopamine, the feel-good hormone, produces a sense of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation with a healthy mood boost. Normal dopamine levels improve memory, movement, attitude, motivation, and concentration. Low dopamine levels are associated with lethargy, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), Parkinson’s disease, and restless legs syndrome.
Estrogen: The Sexy Hormone
Estrogen, the sexy hormone, impacts sexual and reproductive health by alerting the body when to start and stop puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. Estrogen also controls sexual desire—higher levels produce more passion. Low estrogen often causes moodiness, loss of libido, lack of concentration, weight gain, hot flashes, and night sweats—not sexy!
Cortisol: The Stress Hormone
Cortisol, the stress hormone, spikes when you’re under duress, causing the “fight or flight” response that helps your body avoid a total meltdown. However, consistently high cortisol levels can lead to weight gain, heart issues, sleep disruption, and anxiety.
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Insulin: The Fat-Storage Hormone
Insulin, the fat-storage hormone, enables your organs, liver, and fat to absorb excess glucose. Low insulin levels result in unhealthy sugar accumulation, a precursor for diabetes.
Melatonin: The Sleepy Hormone
Melatonin, the sleepy hormone, regulates sleep/wake cycles and your circadian rhythm (internal clock) by calming the body and mind. Exposure to light at night blocks the production of melatonin, so keep your bedroom screen-free to get more ZZZs.
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Conclusion
Hormones control your mood, sexual health, stress levels, metabolism, appetite, blood sugar, and sleep cycles. Balanced hormones are essential for overall health and wellness. Get an annual blood test to check your hormone levels and always practice healthy habits.
“Love yourself enough to live a healthy lifestyle.”