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A Hormone Imbalance Could Be Making You Tired
Are you getting your eight hours every night but still feeling sleepy throughout the day?
If so, you might be one of the millions of people worldwide suffering from a hormone imbalance.
The endocrine system is the factory that produces hormones in the body, and hormones are the body’s chemical messengers. If your body’s system for sending messages is out of balance, then it affects how your body reacts and can produce changes in mood, sleep patterns, libido, appetite and energy levels. When people joke that someone is acting ‘hormonal’, this is what they mean.
One of the most common symptoms of hormone balance is fatigue. According to a report in the New York Times, fatigue was either mislabeled or misdiagnosed up until the 1980s until studies started to reveal the true impact of hormone imbalances and energy levels. Today, researchers and doctors alike recognize the correlation between our fast paced, always-on, urban lifestyles and increasing incidence of hormone imbalances.
Here are some of the key hormones that affect mood and energy levels.
Cortisol
This is the body’s stress hormone and having the right balance of cortisol is crucial to keep your energy levels in check. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that external factors causing chronic stress were more likely to blame for cortisol imbalances than a physical irregularity with adrenal glands that produce it. This, in a sense, opens the door for patients to treat a cortisol imbalance by altering their day-to-day activities and diet. Other diagnoses are treated with medicine and hormone replacement therapy.
Thyroid
An overactive or underactive thyroid can often be the underlying cause of fatigue, particularly in women. This hormone controls your body’s metabolic rate i.e. how food is converted to energy. Just like a car engine, an overactive thyroid will cause you to burn out and an under active thyroid won’t get you out of the garage. Common conditions are treated with medicine or bio-identical hormones.
Testosterone
Another one of our crucial messenger hormones, testosterone is better known for its role in developing male sexual characteristics, such as hair growth, muscle mass and libido. But it is produced (in smaller amounts) by women too; low levels of production have been linked to both fatigue and weight gain.
Estrogen
Estrogen comes in three forms – estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), estriol (E3). Maintaining the correct ratio of these three elements is important for both men and women, although women are more susceptible to estrogen imbalances. Studies have linked low production to certain types of cancer and heart disease, although more common symptoms are hot flashes, insomnia, painful sex, night sweats and fatigue.
Dr. Wanviput Sanphasitvong, a wellness specialist with the Vitallife Wellness Center at Bumrungrad International Hospital recommends that people who feel “tired all the time” get a thorough work up from a physician who understands fatigue management. She says that conventional medicine often lacks the time and patience to sift through the issues to get to the root cause.
“Fatigue and lack of energy is the number one complaint of people who come to the Vitallife Clinic,” says Dr. Wanviput. “Our approach is to dig deeper in order to understand the source of fatigue in our patients, which could be a lot of things – hormones, toxicity, leaky gut, poor sleep habits.”
While fatigue is not life threatening, it certainly does affect quality of life. The Vitallife Wellness Center specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of people who are suffering from low energy and fatigue.