What do hormones do to you

Your emotions are erratic. You get cranky and irritable often, and you have energy crashes. Hormones are also important to your sexual function.

Men with hormone imbalances may experience a decrease in libido and erectile dysfunction. Women may also feel less than amorous in the bedroom and experience vaginal dryness that makes intercourse uncomfortable and even painful. Weight gain is common with hormone imbalances. Women may start to see pounds pile around their middle, and men find it harder to build muscle while fat accrues. Hunger is uncontrollable at times. Physical symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, and increased sensitivity to temperature.

Excessive stress or exercise can lead to an imbalance in your adrenals. Thyroid hormone imbalances may be caused by disease. The Well for Health can help. Here are examples of how the level of some common hormones can make you feel and what you might do to change them:. Like any other part of the body, things can go wrong with hormones. If your hormones are out of balance, you might notice different symptoms, depending on which hormone or hormones are affected, says Bhavini Bhavsar, MD, a PeaceHealth endocrinologist in Vancouver, Washington.

Discuss this with your doctor so that the right testing can be done. While you can try to affect specific hormones with certain foods or activities, remember that hormones typically rely on and play off of each other. Rarely can you affect just one hormone without having an impact on others since they work in concert with each other.

Drink water. This keeps everything smoothly flowing throughout your entire system—getting rid of bad stuff and delivering vital nutrients. Your cells love oxygen. Breathing draws in the oxygen. It also helps calm your nerves to promote a feeling of well-being. Mindfulness-based stress reduction can teach you to harness breathing to reduce levels of those stress hormones!

Hormones can get a bad rap—especially at certain stages in our lives. But the more we understand our hormones and what we can do to work with them, the better chance we have of making them work in our favor. Skip to main content. Can you control your hormones? Wellness Aging Well December 12, Your endocrine system—it's complicated Your hormones are generated by your endocrine system, which is made up of glands and other parts of your body that make and release various hormones.

As women age and approach menopause, the ovaries produce less estrogen. A large clinical trial in the early s caused alarm in the medical community when it showed a link between certain types of estrogen replacement therapy and an increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease in postmenopausal women. Browse a selective list of online resources that provide information, support, and searchable databases on hormone health and hormone disorders.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine. This society of fertility specialists maintains a patient-focused website with easy-to-read educational pages on reproductive health topics, such as male and female infertility and assisted reproductive technologies ART.

The site also contains resources for finding a reproductive health professional. The Hormone Health Network provides online resources for patients, including information on adrenal disorders, diabetes, thyroid problems, menopause, and transgender medicine and research. The site also contains an up-to-date physician referral directory with more than 6, Endocrine Society member doctors. National Institute of Mental Health. This government agency provides brochures and fact sheets in English and Spanish on common mental health disorders that explain what hormones do in the brain.

PATH formed in to help the clinical, medical, and public health communities improve patient care through more accurate and reliable hormone tests. PATH supports research that improves the diagnosis and treatment of hormone disorders. This leading nonprofit provides resources for patients and families impacted by rare diseases, including those related to hormone disorders. Read patient stories, learn about PCOS fundraisers, and participate in groups and forums.

Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Toni Weschler, author of Taking Charge of Your Fertility , blogs about natural birth control, getting pregnant with the fertility awareness method , and reproductive health. The Period Revolutionary. Cognifit is a healthcare company aimed at improving cognitive health. Their blog contains posts on all things related to brain health and neuroscience, including hormones that work as neurotransmitters. Topics vary from natural remedies to help fight hair loss to what you need to know about testosterone replacement therapy.

Clinical trials are medical studies aimed at preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases. Check these resources for clinical trials on hormone disorders:. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Phone interview. August 15, Hormone Health Network. Brain Basics. August 14, Mayo Clinic. March 1, What Does Estrogen Do?

Could You Have Low Testosterone? April 30, Therapeutic Use of Androgens in Women. Endocrine Society. October What Is Cortisol? Curry A. The Connection Between Stress and Type 2. Diabetes Forecast. March Adrenal Glands.

Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Library. Encyclopaedia Britannica. The Pineal Gland and Melatonin. Colorado State. Brookshire B. Explainer: What Is Dopamine? Science News for Students. January 17, What Is Progesterone? Journal of the American Medical Association. July 17, September 12, Sources Gorney C. The Estrogen Dilemma.