Restful sleep and the balance of hormones

Hormones have the task of controlling the body. In addition to vital functions, hormones also control the day-night rhythm, attention or sexuality, among other things. It is therefore obvious that hormones are also closely related to sleep health.

The cortisol awakening response occurs in the early morning hours and causes the level of the stress hormone cortisol to increase by 50-150%. This response occurs in all people, but the level of the cortisol rise can vary. This cortisol awakening response is not yet fully explained, but it is thought to serve to mobilize the body's reserves of strength to get up. Even though the morning release of the stress hormone cortisol is perfectly normal, unpleasant life circumstances have an influence on the fact that more of the stress hormone is released. Sleep phases that are too short or not restful lead to an increased output, which in turn has consequential reactions in the body.

Thyrotropic control loop

The thyroid gland produces the hormones thyroxine and triiodothyronine, which is responsible for the absorption of food and physical activity, e.g. the feeling of tiredness as well as blood pressure, pulse and body temperature are regulated by the thyroid hormones. The thyroid gland is involved in a complex regulatory cycle, so that it can quickly become maladjusted, which can quickly manifest itself in symptoms such as insomnia. To fall asleep and stay asleep, the right concentration of this thyroid hormone must be present in the body. But too little sleep also upsets the thyroid's household. If sleep is deprived for a short time, the balance of thyroid hormones is disturbed and permanent hypothyroidism may result.

Testosterone level

Sleep deprivation reduces testosterone - Training - Muscle building

The level of the male sex hormone testosterone is important for muscle building, for example. The production of testosterone begins when we fall asleep, peaks during the REM phase and remains at this level until we wake up. Since the body regenerates during the night, an adequate recovery phase with enough sleep is also necessary after a hard, demanding workout so that training successes manifest themselves permanently. Restrictions on sleep significantly reduce the production of testosterone. It has been suggested that testosterone levels are 20% lower in men with poor sleep. [1] At the same time, it has been shown that sleep is also often worse in men with low testosterone levels.

This relationship requires further investigation.

Estrogen

Melatonin is produced during sleep, which slows down the release of the female sex hormone estrogen. If this interplay is interrupted by lack of sleep, a larger amount of estrogen can be released. There are indications that this excess of estrogen is responsible for breast and ovarian cancer.

Decreased fertility

Lack of sleep can lead to reduced fertility

Studies with female shift workers concluded that irregular sleeping times upset the female cycle and thus also impair fertility. Stress hormones, which can result from a lack of sleep, do not affect fertility directly, but they do indirectly by impairing the mental state and thus the libido.

Growth hormones

The body regenerates during sleep. We have already pointed out elsewhere that sufficient sleep is important. If you want to build muscle, for example, you should plan for the appropriate rest periods in addition to training. In empirical studies with newborns, it was found that the more sleep they got, the faster they grew.

Children who did not have enough rest periods experienced developmental delays, including problems with sexual maturity, for example. Since the body regenerates during sleep even in adulthood, care should be taken to ensure sufficient rest periods.