Did you know that 1 in 3 people are reported to suffer from insomnia in the UK (NHS, 2023) which lead me to question the affect sleep has on hormones and more importantly made me wonder how many people are prioritsing their sleep?
Sleep is a vital part of health, put simply the body cant function without it and without it our chance of illness greatly increases. We all know the importance hormones have in maintaining the status of our bodies but hormones need sleep to help regulate themselves. Here are four aspects of hormone functions that are affected by the quality of your sleep which you may or may not be aware of:
Hunger - The main hormones responsible for hunger are Gherin and Leptin they signal to our body when we need to eat. A poor nights sleep can result in an imbalance in these which can result in an increased hunger the following day thus a larger calorie consumption. Lets make no mistake this isn't the end of the world on a one off but if your sleep is generally poor it could answer why you have such a big appetite.
Hormonal Shifts in Women - Its no secret that women's hormones go through an awful lot particularly in pregnancy, menstruation, perimenopause and menopause (gosh that is alot). Around these times women often have difficulties with sleep that is largely because estrogen and progesterone play key roles in both reproductive health and sleep. As these fluctuate they directly impact the bodies ability to have high quality sleep.
Cortisol - more commonly known as the stress hormone, what most are not aware of is that hormone plays a huge role in regulating other hormones throughout the body. With poor sleep comes poor cortisol production. Due to cortisol having such an important role in the body this can have a knock on affect causing poor metabolic and thyroid function.
Meletonin - This is a key hormone in regulating sleep cycles being at its lowest early morning signalling to the body to wake and building throughout the day to fall asleep. However blue lights from TV's, phones and tablets can delay its production meaning it will take you far longer to fall asleep.
So maybe take some time over the next few days to assess your sleep hygiene and reflect on whether theres any areas you can improve on, your body will thank you for it!
Rebecca Collingwood BSc (Hons)
Comentários