How are my hormones affecting my sleep again?

While hormones aren’t the only thing that affect sleep, they can be big players and understanding their role in your sleep cycle may just give you the “aha” moment you have been looking for. Here’s a summary of some of the hormones that are involved in your sleep/wake cycle and what they do:

1.     Grehlin: Ghrelin is a hormone produced by specialised cells that line the stomach and the pancreas. It is produced during a healthy sleep cycle, signalling appropriate hunger levels during the following day.  Ghrelin levels increase before meals and decrease after meals.  A shorter sleep cycle can mean fluctuations in Ghrelin levels, and increased daytime hunger. 

2.     Leptin: A hormone that counteracts the effects of ghrelin, Leptin is produced by the fat tissue in the body, during sleep.  Leptin induces satiation or a feeling of fullness after a meal. When the leptin level is high, hunger is decreased. Studies show that people with shorter sleep cycles have elevated ghrelin (appetite-inducer) and lowered Leptin (appetite suppressor). In Western societies, where chronic sleep restriction is common and food is widely available, changes in appetite regulatory hormones with sleep curtailment may contribute to obesity.

3.     Melatonin: Produced with trigger of darkness at two times: 1) when the sun goes down ii) again at around 10-10.30pm.  Increases sleep inception. Melatonin regulates your sleep-wake cycle, so if you don’t secrete enough of it you may find it difficult to get to sleep.  Melatonin is only available on prescription here in NZ, but the precursor to it can be found in tart cherry, and the following foods:  Cabbage, feverfew (herb), walnuts.  Nibbling some walnuts prior to bed is not a bad idea, as they also contain protein to stabilise blood sugars.  Some researchers say that melatonin may also be cancer-protective.

4.     Cortisol: levels of this hormone dip at bedtime, and increase gradually during the night to prepare for morning alertness. Cortisol imbalances are common these days due to high stress levels. It is very simple to have your cortisol tested, and it is something I do regularly with my patients.  We can do a one-off cortisol blood test first thing in the morning, or a 24-hour assessment, to see what your cortisol levels are doing throughout your wake and sleep cycle. 

Talk with us if you’d like testing done, or just a chat about improving your sleep cycle naturally.