Simple, accurate health tests for the home and the workplace.
Sleep and hormones are intrinsically linked, influencing each other in a way that affects your overall health and well-being. From the sleep-wake cycle to mood regulation, hormones play a crucial role in determining the quality and quantity of your sleep.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the key hormones involved in sleep regulation and how they impact your nightly rest. Understanding the influence that certain hormones can have on your sleep can help you make the necessary changes to your lifestyle to ensure you are achieving the right amount of sleep.
When you fall asleep, you cycle through two phases of sleep: rapid-eye movement (REM), which makes up one stage of sleeping, and non-rapid-eye movement (NREM), which accounts for three stages of sleep. Over the course of the night, your total sleep is made up of several rounds of the sleep cycle. Sleep cycles vary, but on average, they last about 90 minutes each.
Sleep stages are important as they allow the brain and body to rest, recuperate, and develop. Failure to obtain enough NREM and REM sleep can result in problems with concentration, emotion control, and physical well-being.
Poor sleep has many explanations, such as age or sleep disorders. However, one significant contributing factor to insomnia is changes in hormones.
Hormones are crucial in maintaining a healthy sleep cycle by regulating sleep timing, quality, and duration. They interact with various systems in the body to ensure that sleep occurs at the correct times and is restorative. Here’s how essential hormones contribute to a healthy sleep cycle.
Often called the ‘sleep hormone,’ melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in response to darkness. It is central to regulating the circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock that dictates the sleep-wake cycle, and it tells the body when it is time to sleep.
Melatonin levels naturally rise in the evening, peak at night, and decrease in the morning. This hormone promotes sleep onset and helps maintain sleep throughout the night.
Disruptions in melatonin production, such as exposure to artificial light at night or irregular sleep patterns, can lead to difficulties falling asleep and staying asleep.
Estrogen and progesterone are key reproductive hormones that influence sleep regulation in women.
Estrogen helps regulate sleep by affecting serotonin, a neurotransmitter that influences sleep and mood. High estrogen levels, as seen during certain menstrual cycle phases, can improve sleep quality.
However, fluctuations in estrogen, such as those during menopause, can lead to sleep disturbances like hot flashes and night sweats, disrupting sleep.
Progesterone has a calming effect and promotes sleep by increasing the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that induces relaxation.
During the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, elevated progesterone can make women feel sleepier. Conversely, low progesterone levels, such as those occurring after childbirth or during menopause, can lead to insomnia and poorer sleep quality.
The balance of estrogen and progesterone is crucial for maintaining a regular and restful sleep cycle in women.
The adrenal glands produce cortisol, critical in the body’s response to stress. It also helps regulate metabolism, immune response, and blood pressure.
Cortisol levels follow a daily rhythm, typically peaking in the early morning to help wake you up and gradually decreasing throughout the day.
However, chronic stress or disrupted circadian rhythms can cause elevated cortisol levels at night, leading to difficulty falling asleep, frequent awakenings, and poor sleep quality.
These two hormones are key players in regulating appetite and energy balance, and they also have a significant impact on sleep. Ghrelin stimulates hunger, while leptin signals satiety.
During sleep deprivation, ghrelin levels increase, leading to heightened feelings of hunger, particularly for high-calorie foods. Adequate sleep helps maintain balanced leptin levels, signally a feeling of fullness and reducing the likelihood of overeating. When sleep is disrupted or insufficient, leptin levels drop, leading to increased hunger and potential weight gain.
This imbalance between ghrelin and leptin during sleep deprivation can create a vicious cycle of poor sleep and overeating, further complicating sleep regulation and overall health.
Menopause can spur on several uncomfortable symptoms. According to a recent study, insomnia is one of the most common symptoms of menopause.
As you enter perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels begin to fluctuate dramatically. There is an overall decline in your hormone levels, which can lead to poor sleep quality.
The reduction in estrogen can cause hot flashes, night sweats, and other uncomfortable systems that would prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. Lower levels of progesterone lead to a lower production of GABA, meaning you feel less relaxed, which can lead to insomnia and overall poor sleep.
Hormonal fluctuations occur during pregnancy and after giving birth. Progesterone, which increases substantially during pregnancy, has a sedative effect that can cause excessive daytime drowsiness. However, elevated progesterone levels can also contribute to insomnia, especially in the second and third trimesters.
While estrogen supports various physiological functions during pregnancy, fluctuations in its levels can lead to sleep disturbances. High estrogen levels can cause mood swings and anxiety, which may interfere with the ability to fall asleep or stay asleep.
Pregnant individuals also often experience disrupted sleep due to physical discomforts, such as back pain or heartburn, that are exacerbated by hormonal shifts.
Thyroid issues can significantly impact sleep quality because they affect the body’s metabolism and overall hormonal balance. Thyroid disorders include hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) speeds up metabolism, causing symptoms like increased heart rate, anxiety, frequent nighttime urination, and night sweats, which can disrupt sleep and lead to difficulty falling and staying asleep.
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) can slow metabolism, resulting in excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. Weight gain and sensitivity to cold can cause discomfort and contribute to sleep apnea, leading to frequent awakenings and poor sleep quality.
Chronic stress elevates cortisol levels, interfering with the natural sleep-wake cycle. High cortisol levels at night can make it difficult to fall asleep due to high levels of alertness and less time spent in deep sleep stages, which can cause frequent awakenings and contribute to insomnia.
Over time, this can lead to a persistent pattern of poor sleep. Stress-related issues like muscle tension and headaches can cause discomfort, further disrupting sleep.
Understanding hormones’ complex role in regulating sleep is essential for achieving a restful and restorative night’s sleep. At Home Health, we know how important a good night’s sleep is for your physical health and well-being.
This is why we have created several guides, from menopause to menstrual cycles, that can help you better understand hormonal influences on sleep and how you can improve your sleep and enhance your overall health. Explore our resources and stay informed with Home Health for a night of better sleep and a happier you!
Progesterone has a calming effect and can promote sleep. However, during times of hormonal fluctuations, such as pre-menstruation or menopause, reduced progesterone levels can contribute to insomnia and poor sleep quality.
Yes, hormonal changes during pregnancy, such as increased progesterone, can cause daytime sleepiness and nighttime insomnia. Physical discomfort, frequent urination, and hormonal shifts can further disrupt sleep.
For issues related to progesterone, consider consulting with a healthcare provider about hormone therapy or lifestyle adjustments that can help balance hormone levels and improve sleep.
The New Model from SD Biosensor (the manufacturers of the No.1 selling SD Codefree Blood Glucose Meter) has all the benefits of the Codefree plus it boasts a greater accuracy due to a wider haematocrit (HCT) range of 0-70% and GDH-FAD enzyme technology.
All of this with prices starting from just £11.99!
Click here to find out more information.