Which Hormones Affect Sleep? 8 Sleep Hormones
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Intus Healthcare’s writers, customer service team, and sleep experts review and ensure this information is accurate.
Hormones play a huge role in the quality of your sleep, your mood and how you function during the day.
The impact your hormones have on your sleep can depend on your age, gender, certain medications and underlying health conditions.
This article will explain the relationship your hormones have in regulating your sleep, why you may have problems sleeping and ways to address it.
Table of Contents
8 Hormones that affect sleep
Hormones are chemical messengers responsible for maintaining how your body functions, such as hunger, sexual function, body temperature and muscle repair. Hormones are crucial in regulating sleep patterns, influencing when we feel awake and sleepy.
Here are the top 8 sleep hormones:
1. Melatonin
Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland in the brain and helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. It is often referred to as the ‘sleep hormone’.
How it affects sleep: Melatonin levels naturally rise in the evening, signalling to the body that it’s time to sleep. Melatonin promotes drowsiness and helps with the start of sleep. Levels decrease in the morning, which helps wake us up.
Impacts on melatonin: Light exposure, particularly blue light from screens, can suppress melatonin production, making it harder to fall asleep.
2. Testosterone (h3)
Testosterone, a primary male sex hormone, plays a significant role in various bodily functions, including regulating sleep.
How it affects sleep: Higher testosterone levels are linked to increased deep sleep, the most vital sleep phase. This suggests that adequate testosterone levels contribute to better sleep quality and physical recovery at night.
Impacts on testosterone: Men with low testosterone levels may experience symptoms like insomnia, difficulty staying asleep, or frequent awakenings during the night (sleep fragmentation). Similarly, women with an imbalance of testosterone may also experience sleep problems.
Age, weight, medications and medical conditions can all contribute to reduced or heightened testosterone levels.
3. Cortisol
Cortisol is the ‘stress hormone’ produced by the adrenal glands. It’s involved in the body’s stress response but also helps regulate metabolism, immune response, and energy levels.
How it affects sleep: Cortisol levels typically rise in the early morning, helping to wake us up, and gradually decrease throughout the day, allowing us to feel tired.
Impacts on cortisol: Stress and anxiety can cause high cortisol levels at night, disrupting sleep and making it harder to fall or stay asleep.
4. Oestrogen and Progesterone
These are female sex hormones that play a significant role in the reproductive system and sleep quality.
How it affects sleep: Fluctuations in oestrogen and progesterone levels, can particularly impact sleep quality during the menstrual cycle, cause snoring in pregnancy and menopause. These hormones typically mean that women need more sleep than men.
Impacts on oestrogen and progesterone: Low progesterone levels can lead to insomnia, while oestrogen fluctuations can cause night sweats that disturb sleep.
Does progesterone make you tired?
Yes, progesterone can make you feel tired.
In men with Sleep Apnoea, progesterone can reduce the number of central and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) episodes. However, women during menopause have reduced progesterone levels, leading to a lack of sleep, which can increase the risk of Sleep Apnoea (1).
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5. Human Growth Hormone
The Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is produced by the pituitary gland and is crucial for growth, cell repair, and metabolism. It is essential during childhood as our bodies change as we grow into adults.
How it affects sleep: The growth hormone is primarily released during deep sleep, especially in the first few hours of the night. Quality sleep ensures the hormone stays productive so you can feel the benefits.
Impacts on HGH: Factors that can hinder the growth hormone include overeating and hyperthyroidism (2).
6. Adenosine
Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that accumulates in the brain during wakefulness and promotes sleepiness.
How it affects sleep: Sleep helps clear adenosine from the brain, reduces sleep pressure, and helps you feel refreshed.
Impacts on Adenosine: Sleep disruptions can prevent adequate adenosine clearance, leading to fatigue and grogginess.
7. Ghrelin and Leptin
Leptin signals to the brain that the body has enough energy (fat storage), suppressing appetite, while ghrelin stimulates hunger.
Its relationship with sleep: Sleep affects the production of leptin and ghrelin, helping to regulate hunger.
Impacts on ghrelin and leptin: Sleep deprivation reduces leptin levels and increases ghrelin levels, leading to increased appetite and cravings, often for high-calorie foods. This imbalance can contribute to weight gain and health conditions.
8. Thyroid Hormone
Sleep impacts the secretion and regulation of thyroid hormones, which govern metabolism and energy levels.
Its relationship with sleep: Adequate sleep helps maintain normal thyroid function.
Impacts on the thyroid hormone: Disrupted sleep patterns can affect thyroid hormone levels, potentially leading to hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. These conditions can, in turn, affect sleep quality, creating a vicious cycle.
These hormones work together in a complex system to maintain the body’s natural circadian rhythm, the internal clock controlling the sleep-wake cycle.
Disruptions to hormone levels, whether due to stress, diet, lifestyle, or medical conditions, can lead to sleep disturbances and affect overall health.
How sleep supports hormone production
Sleep is a time for your body to recover from the day and prepare for the next. Sleep allows your body to produce hormones and regulate them accordingly.
Can hormones cause sleep disorders?
Yes, hormonal changes and imbalances can cause sleep disorders to develop.
Hormonal imbalances can directly or indirectly contribute to various sleep disorders, affecting the ability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or achieve restful sleep. These imbalances can result from stress, lifestyle factors, ageing, medical conditions, or hormonal changes.
Sleep Apnoea Test
A quick and easy way to confirm if you do or do not have Sleep Apnoea is by taking a sleep test.
The test requires one night of sleep data, and the results are sent to you within two working days.
If Sleep Apnoea is detected, our in-house clinicians can walk you through your treatment options and any questions you may have.
Some examples of the hormonal changes that can affect your sleep include:
Menopause: Hormonal changes during menopause can cause night sweats, and the reduced progesterone can make it difficult to sleep. Sleep disorders such as Obstructive Sleep Apnoea are common during menopause because of low progesterone and oestrogen.
Menstrual cycle: Hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle can lead to premenstrual syndrome (PMS), characterised by sleep disturbances such as insomnia or hypersomnia.
Insulin resistance: Insulin resistance, often caused by poor sleep or disrupted sleep patterns, can lead to type 2 diabetes, associated with various sleep disorders, including Sleep Apnoea.
Low testosterone: Lower testosterone levels can be caused by different things including age, health conditions and medications. OSA is directly linked to lower levels of testosterone this is because the decrease in the hormonal can affect sleep quality.
Ways to balance your hormones at home
- Eat enough protein: Protein-rich foods provide amino acids and protein-derived peptide hormones, which are essential for metabolism, appetite, and stress reduction. You should aim for around 15-30 grams of protein per meal, choosing foods high in protein such as eggs, fish, and chicken breast.
- Get regular exercise: Regular exercise improves blood flow to your muscles and increases hormone receptor sensitivity. Physical activity reduces insulin levels and boosts muscle-maintaining hormones such as testosterone and the human growth hormone, which decline with age (3).
- Manage your stress: Increased stress levels can increase hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Reducing stress helps balance these hormones and improves sleep. Ways to do this include mindfulness, breathing exercises, and meditation.
- Maintain a healthy weight: Weight is directly connected to hormonal balance and regulation. Obesity can cause insulin sensitivity, increasing the risk of low testosterone, diabetes and heart disease. Maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk of these conditions and balances your hormones for quality sleep.
- Maintain a healthy gut: A healthy gut ensures the gut microbiome effectively regulates hormones by releasing relevant hormones, such as insulin, to control blood sugar. Bad gut health can contribute to inflammation and insulin resistance, which could lead to hormonal imbalances such as PCOS and endometriosis in women and autoimmune diseases in both genders. Lowering your sugar and processed food intake can help reduce inflammation and increase the percentage of good bacteria in your gut.
- Get enough sleep: As mentioned above, sleep is essential for hormone levels and daily function. Simple ways to help you get enough sleep include creating a sleep routine, removing blue light before bed, and optimising your sleep environment. It is also encouraged to avoid stimulants such as alcohol and caffeine before bed, as these can keep you awake.
Practising good sleep hygiene and choosing foods that help you sleep are some of the simplest ways to take control of your sleep and manage your hormones.
Summary
Sleep is linked with hormone production and regulation. Adequate, high-quality sleep ensures that hormones are released appropriately and at the correct times, supporting growth, metabolism, stress management, appetite regulation, and overall health.
Poor or insufficient sleep can disrupt your hormonal balance, leading to a range of health issues, including obesity, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, sleep problems and mood disorders.
If you think your lack of sleep is due to a Sleep Apnoea, please take a home sleep test to determine if it is present. Alternatively, you can contact us for help and advice.
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About Our Editorial Team
Written By,
Danielle Myatt, Staff Writer
Danni is a degree-educated content writer who works closely with our clinical and customer services teams to ensure every article is well-researched and accurate. Each article is written to educate, help, and advise on Sleep Apnoea, spread awareness, and encourage treatment.
Medically Reviewed By,
Jay Gadher, Clinical Manager
Jay is an experienced Respiratory and Sleep Clinical Scientist. He completed his BSc in Healthcare Science, which has allowed him to gain expertise in scoring sleep studies. His knowledge and insights about sleep science and human health ensure every article reflects the latest data.
References
1. Andersen ML, Bittencourt LR, Antunes IB, Tufik S. (2006). Effects of progesterone on sleep: a possible pharmacological treatment for sleep-breathing disorders? Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17168724. Accessed: 12.08.2024.2. National Library of Medicine. (2000). Factors Affecting Growth Hormone Secretion. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279097/table/acromegaly.T.factors_affecting_growth_ho/. Accessed: 12.08.2024.
3. Riachy R, McKinney K, Tuvdendorj DR. 92020). Various Factors May Modulate the Effect of Exercise on Testosterone Levels in Men. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7739287. Accessed: 12.08.2024.