How Hormones Affect Sleep
Your body makes different hormones at different times of the day. In the morning, your body releases hormones that increase alertness, such as cortisol, which helps wake you up. A good night’s sleep will promote healthy hormone levels, but poor sleep can result in hormone imbalances that negatively affect your health.
Hormonal imbalances can affect the quality of sleep in both men and women. It is common to suffer from imbalances when we are surrounded by a multitude of hormone disruptors. Deficiencies in progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, and excess levels of cortisol can affect your ability to fall and stay asleep.
In order to fully understand how sleep and hormones interact, you first need to understand the different types of hormones that directly affect sleep quality.
Hormones That Affect Sleep
While sleep is essential to hormone production, some of your body’s hormones can also impact your sleep quality. The five most important ones are melatonin, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol.
Melatonin
Often called the “sleep hormone,” melatonin is a natural hormone directly responsible for promoting healthy rest and regulating your body’s circadian rhythm. It helps your body to respond to light and dark, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at the right time. It also helps induce relaxation in your muscles and nerves, helping to provide better sleep. Melatonin has some antioxidant properties, too, and potentially helps slow down the aging process.
Besides helping with sleep, melatonin can increase growth hormone and thyroid levels. This action can help you have more energy in the day, burn fat more efficiently, and feel better overall. It also lowers cortisol levels, which helps reduce the effects of chronic stress.
Many people do not get enough quality rest each night, making melatonin one of today’s most taken health supplements. Sleep disruption or poor-quality sleep can negatively affect your body’s melatonin production, making a good night’s sleep vital to your overall health.
You can naturally increase your melatonin levels by sleeping in complete darkness at night and exposing yourself to strong morning light. If you are having trouble falling or staying asleep, try a melatonin supplement 30 minutes before bedtime. Start with 0.1 to 0.3 mg dose of sublingual melatonin and work up to 1 mg if needed. Keep in mind that higher dosing is not always better.
If you take oral pills, start with 0.5 to 1 mg and work up to 5 mg if needed. It is best to start with a very low dose and increase as needed.
Progesterone And Estrogen
Although these two hormones are mostly known for their roles in women’s health, both men and women produce progesterone and estrogen.
Estrogen is a sex hormone that controls women’s menstruation cycles. There are three main types: estradiol, estriol, and estrone. These forms are produced at different points in a woman’s life, such as during menopause. Meanwhile, progesterone is vital to your reproductive system, including menstruation. Both also work to improve sleep quality.
Progesterone is a calming hormone that assists in falling and staying asleep. Estrogen, along with testosterone, works to improve this sleep quality and, when balanced, keeps your temperature stable at night, which can also affect sleep.
During various stages of life, both men and women experience fluctuating levels of progesterone and estrogen levels that influence the quality of sleep. For women, this most often happens during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. Women often report sleeping poorly, especially if these hormones cause symptoms such as cramping, body pain, or hot flashes.
Testosterone
Similar to progesterone and estrogen, testosterone is produced in all bodies and is more than just the “male” sex hormone. In both men and women, testosterone supports reproductive and bone health. Testosterone levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day but are at their highest during REM sleep. If you are not getting enough REM sleep, it can affect your body’s testosterone levels.
Lower levels of this hormone can sometimes be linked to snoring and insomnia symptoms as well, which creates a cycle of reduced testosterone levels and poor sleep. As mentioned, it also helps regulate body temperature so you remain comfortable and do not wake up.
Cortisol
Sleep regulates cortisol, often called the stress hormone. This is not, however, cortisol’s main purpose in the body, especially when it comes to sleep. Along with melatonin, cortisol is key to maintaining a healthy sleep pattern.
When you first wake up, your cortisol level temporarily spikes, helping you become alert and feel refreshed as your melatonin levels decrease. As you approach your bedtime, cortisol production slows down while melatonin ramps up, helping your body prepare for sleep. Maintaining healthy levels of both keeps your sleep cycle pattern regular and ensures your body gets the rest it needs.
Too much cortisol, such as when you’re stressed, can result in feeling “wired and tired.” This negatively affects your quality of sleep and creates a vicious cycle of poor sleep and increasing cortisol hormone levels.
Certain practices, such as meditation or doing a relaxing activity before bed, can naturally help decrease your cortisol levels so your body can fall asleep as it’s supposed to. If you are feeling stressed or worried, try journaling or exercise to help decrease the amount of cortisol in your body.
Do Hormones Cause Insomnia?
The short answer is not exactly. While some hormones, such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone, can contribute to insomnia, those problems are often temporary and go away once hormone levels return to normal. Not getting enough sleep, though, can start to affect your hormones, which can cause future sleep problems. Even worse, this can lead to a cycle of poor sleep and hormone imbalance.
While hormones are not entirely to blame for your troubles in sleeping, they are closely connected to a specific sleep disorder: sleep apnea. Sleep-disordered breathing and sleep apnea can affect your body’s hormone levels, which then increases these breathing difficulties. Having sleep apnea may also lead to an increased risk of developing other disorders as well due to hormonal imbalances.
Some sleep issues go away on their own. Still, if you are experiencing consistently poor sleep, sleep loss, or daytime drowsiness along with hormonal imbalances, then you might have a sleep disorder. This is especially important to consider if you are 35 or older and lack of sleep is a newer issue. Hormone imbalances are often missed with traditional testing, so get your body’s hormone levels properly evaluated by a hormone specialist if you suspect your levels are out of balance.
An Optimal You is California’s #1 bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and anti-aging center. Our incredible services include bioidentical hormone therapy for anyone suffering from imbalances in the body, with a focus on personable, customized results so you can achieve optimal wellness. If you want to experience the benefits of bioidentical hormone therapy, make an appointment with our office today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Melatonin is the hormone most associated with sleep. It is often lower during the daytime, but levels begin to rise once darkness sets in, which encourages sleep. It also helps regulate your body’s circadian rhythm. Unlike other hormones in your body, melatonin is produced in the pineal gland.
Sleep disruption or poor-quality rest can negatively affect your body’s melatonin production. This is why getting a good night’s sleep is so important to your overall health and wellbeing. Melatonin is also available in supplement form for those who struggle with winding down at night.
Cortisol, most often known as the “stress hormone,” does more than help with the fight or flight response. Along with melatonin, it plays a role in regulating your circadian rhythm. When you first wake up, cortisol levels temporarily spike to help you feel more alert and refreshed as your body reduces melatonin production. Likewise, as bedtime approaches, cortisol production is reduced to allow your body to rest.
It is important to note, however, that elevated cortisol levels, such as during stressful events, can negatively impact your rest. These elevated levels can suppress your body’s natural melatonin production, leading to poor-quality rest at bedtime.
While many causes of hormonal insomnia are tied to female reproductive hormones, everyone can benefit from the methods used to treat it. One of the most useful habits you can implement is setting a consistent sleep schedule. That means going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. You should also avoid electronics and caffeine before bed. Adding a supplement, such as melatonin, may also help treat your insomnia.
If these methods do not work, you may have a severe sleep disorder. It is best you talk to your doctor or a hormone specialist to discuss how you can help improve your rest.
There are a variety of factors that can lead to decreased sleep quality. Aside from disorders, such as sleep apnea, diet, lack of exercise, and mental health can all affect how much rest you get at night. Caffeine, sugar, and even spicy foods can lead to restless nights. Large meals close to your bedtime can also contribute to heartburn, which might keep you up at night, or general feelings of unwellness.
Similarly, the lack of exercise can lead to problems such as obesity, which may trigger sleep apnea and could affect your mental health. By exercising, you allow your body to use up any excess energy at the end of the day and improve your overall well-being, leading to a better night.
Stress and other mental health issues can also keep you up at night. Anxious or racing thoughts can keep the brain from adequately winding down before bedtime. You may want to try journaling, mindful breathing, or yoga before bed to help ease you into a relaxed state.