Getting a good night's sleep is essential for our overall health and well-being. Beyond practising good sleep hygiene and properly winding down your day, our hormones play a significant role in regulating our sleep patterns – and imbalances in these hormones can negatively impact our sleep quality.

How Hormone Imbalances Affect Sleep

Progesterone, cortisol, insulin, and melatonin are all hormones that are essential for a restful night's sleep – so here’s how imbalances in each of these can affect sleep:

Progesterone is a hormone that helps us to relax and fall asleep. Low levels of progesterone can cause difficulty falling and staying asleep, as well as night sweats and hot flashes.

Cortisol is a hormone that regulates our stress response, and high levels of cortisol can interfere with our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Chronic stress can lead to elevated cortisol levels, which can cause insomnia and fragmented sleep.

Insulin is a hormone that regulates our blood sugar levels. Low levels of insulin can cause blood sugar to drop during the night, which can trigger the release of cortisol and adrenaline, leading to disrupted sleep.

Melatonin is a hormone that is essential for regulating our sleep-wake cycle. Low levels of melatonin can cause difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, and can also lead to daytime fatigue and drowsiness.

Natural Ways to Rebalance Hormones

Fortunately, there are natural ways to rebalance our hormones and improve our sleep quality:

• Get regular exercise: Exercise can help to regulate cortisol levels, reduce stress, and promote better sleep quality.
• Eat a balanced diet: Eating a diet rich in whole foods and avoiding processed foods and sugar can help to regulate insulin levels and promote better sleep quality.
• Reduce stress: Practising stress-reducing activities such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises can help regulate cortisol levels and promote better sleep quality.
• Get plenty of sunlight: Exposure to sunlight during the day can help to regulate our sleep-wake cycle and improve melatonin production at night.
• Create a relaxing bedtime routine: A consistent bedtime routine can help to signal to our body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep.

These are all aspects we cover as part of our functional wellness approach to balanced hormones so you can look and feel your absolute best!

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

In some cases, natural methods may not be enough to rebalance our hormone levels and improve our sleep quality. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a possible alternative that can help optimise hormone levels and thus improve sleep quality.

BHRT involves the use of hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones naturally produced by the human body. By using customised hormone prescriptions, BHRT can address individual hormone imbalances and improve sleep quality.

Keeping our hormones balanced is essential for a restful night's sleep. By focusing on natural methods such as exercise, diet, stress reduction, and a consistent bedtime routine, we can rebalance our hormones and improve our sleep quality. BHRT may be the key to get you sleeping again, which then allows your body the chance to recover.

Choosing A BHRT Provider

If you're based in the UK, book a free discovery call to find out more here.
If you're not based in the UK, you can't work with our BHRT Drs but you can still work with our functional medicine nutritionist and coach: please call the clinic on +44203 303 0237 to find out more.