9 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Hormones
1. Hormones Keep You Alive.
The most crucial hormones you’ve never heard of are glucocorticoids are produced by the adrenal glands. They’re essential for life. If someone took away your adrenal glands, and you couldn’t make that hormone, you’d basically become really sick and die.
2. Your Weight.
The thyroid is a fundamental gland. It produces a hormone called thyroxine, which controls the metabolic rate of our cells, or how fast our bodies work. When the thyroid gland is overactive, people can get very thin and lose weight. Conversely, an underactive thyroid can cause weight gain in addition to tiredness, cold skin, a slowed heart rate, and memory problems. Men’s higher levels of testosterone help build muscle, which speeds up your metabolism.
3. The Strength of Your Bones.
Next to the thyroid, we also have four glands called the parathyroids, which control our calcium balance which is really important for bone density and keeping our bones strong. They’re not the most interesting glands in the endocrine system but can cause big problems if they go wrong.
4. When You’re Thirsty & How Much You Have To Pee.
Another really important hormone produced in the pituitary is called vasopressin, which controls the water levels in our body. If the body feels that it’s too dilute, vasopressin acts on the kidneys to make us pee more. If we get very dehydrated or very hot, the body releases less and we pee less that’s when our urine goes really dark.
5. How Hungry You Are.
Hormones also tightly control our levels of blood glucose. Insulin comes from the pancreas and helps regulate our blood sugar level. Additionally, there are also hormones that work as part of a complex communication system between the brain and the stomach to tell us when we’re hungry and when we’re full up.
6. Your Sex Life.
Our sex hormones like testosterone and oestrogen are both needed for libido and attraction. This explains why fluctuations in hormone levels, whether caused by hormonal contraception, an early menopause, or your natural menstrual cycle, can have an impact on both your libido and your sexual function.
7. How You Bond With People, Pets, and Things.
The hormone oxytocin is commonly credited with helping us bond with our loved ones. It’s released during physical contact.
8. Your Mood.
We all know PMS mood swings are down to hormonal changes during our monthly cycle. Changes in oestrogen affect our levels of the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, which is why women typically experience more cyclical mood changes than men.
9. Sleep.
Some of our hormones change in what’s called a circadian rhythm, meaning levels fluctuate depending on the time of day. Hormones get disrupted if you have jet lag or work irregular hours. Melatonin peaks at nighttime and is known for its ability to bring on sleepiness. Melatonin release is affected by daylight, which is why it’s harder to sleep during the day.
