Fatigue and Hormones
Feeling tired or requiring an excessive amount of sleep to function and get through your day can really impact your quality of life! Energy can be a complicated area with sometimes more than one thing at play, but low energy could indicate that there is a hormone imbalance!
If you feel like you are constantly fighting fatigue, there are two hormones that could be imbalanced. However, it is important to seek the advice of a practitioner to get the bottom of the cause of fatigue.
Cortisol
Cortisol can be a hormone to blame for sleeping difficulties and constant tiredness. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands and is regulated by the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland. It is usually released through times of stress, cortisol is the trigger for your body’s ‘fight or flight’ response to stressors.
However, cortisol does far more than that. It is also used to increase the metabolism of glucose, control blood pressure and reduce inflammation. If you are suffering from a hormonal imbalance restricting the release of cortisol, you might feel constant tiredness, nausea, unexplained weight loss and muscle weakness.
Melatonin
Also nicknamed the ‘sleep hormone’, melatonin works together with your circadian rhythm to aid sleep onset. The circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock, or sleep-wake cycle.
Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland, deep in the centre of the brain, and is responsible for signalling to our body that it’s time to go to sleep. Too much light (particularly blue light) before bed, a lack of sunshine during the day, shift work, smoking, stress and alcohol can lower levels of melatonin.
So now that you know you need to keep your hormones in check to get enough quality sleep these are my top 5 tips to help support sleep hormones:
1) Lower the lights
Melatonin levels increase in darkness and can be greatly affected by artificial light, including phones, computers, TV’s and alike. To help regulate your sleep-wake cycle, it’s best to coordinate
light exposure to that cycle as much as possible. Dim the lights in the hour or so before you go to bed and don’t turn on anymore lights than necessary. Another great way to leverage light when it comes to sleep is to enjoy sunshine during the day. Go for a lunchtime walk or eat outside to douple up on daylight and help regulate melatonin.
2) Switch off
Blue light can greatly affect the production of melatonin, so ifyou’re struggling to get to sleep after going to bed, your devices could be to blame! Switch of all light-emitting devices, including the mobile and TV at least 30 minutes before bed.
3) Rest, and relax!
Now that your devices are switched off, enjoy some down time! Whether it may be reading a book, folding the washing while listening to calming music, taking a bath, it’s important to take the time to UNWIND! Soaking in a warm bath can help promote sleep, especially with the addition of Epsom salts or lavender essential oil.
4) Set the scene
There are many factors contributing to creating the ideal environment for sleep. Air flow, sleep, noise, sleep and bedding are all apart of this! It must be carefully considered to optimise sleep. Too much clutter in the bedroom can make you feel stressed or anxious both of which can impact sleep
5) Skip the snacks!
Eating late at night can lead to a hormone disruption and make sleeping a struggle. Limit your after dinner snacking as much as possible (this is also great for digestion!), but if the night-time hunger does kick in – avoid anything high in sugar, caffeine or carbs!
In Good Health,
Taylah Teschner (BHSc Nat)
Get to know Taylah: 
“Through the use of evidence-based medicines derived from nature and implementation of healthy lifestyle practices, we are able to support the body’s own innate ability to heal itself. This leads to more sustainable and long-term health outcomes.” Taylah’s passions are natural health, family, good food and her dog Ruby!