6 easy lifestyle hacks for happy hormones
Written by Vicky Beckett, Tuesday 11 June 2024
Want bags of energy, pain-free periods, a good sex drive, clear skin, low anxiety, and good sleep? Yeah, me too. Hormonal health underpins all of these aspects of your wellbeing and more. It is also key for female athletes. Happy hormones let us train often and recover well. Here are some simple lifehacks to improve your hormonal health:
Take care of your gut
Your hormones and gut health are intrinsically intertwined. Just think about how your appetite and bloating are impacted by your monthly cycle. By keeping your gut healthy, you’re keeping your hormones happy too. Add foods like kimchi, kefir, yoghurt and a wide range of vegetables into your daily diet to make a big difference to your gut and hormonal health.
Throw some shade
As soon as you wake up in the morning, try and get a good dose of natural or artificial light and dim your lights at night. This helps to train our natural body clock to match our sleep patterns. By mimicking sunrise and sunset, research shows this simple fix helps us to sleep better at night. Poor quality sleep leads to changes in your oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels. There’s plenty of things that can get in the way of a good night’s sleep – some of them are more welcome than others – but small changes can keep you on the right track.
Get more protein
It doesn’t matter if it comes from animals or plants, your hormones need protein to function well. Protein helps your hormones to perform their role in your body. It is responsible for the amount of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone released in your body. Protein also supports your pituitary gland which makes you ovulate. A low protein diet has been linked to low oestrogen, low thyroid function and autoimmunity.
Swap your cosmetics around
Lots of cosmetics and products on our shelves are marketed as being good for us but are actually filled with hormone-disrupting chemicals. Fragrances are often guilty here. Toxins apps, such as Yuka, make it easy to weed out products with the worst chemicals for your health. Since doing this, I’ve been surprised to find that often cheaper products are less laden with toxic chemicals than more expensive brands, so it can save money too.
Switch to decaf
I don’t know about you but I struggle to get out of the house without a cup of tea, a coffee and then at least one more tea. But after that, I try to switch to decaf. While I’m not one to preach about caffeine addiction, it does raise your stress hormones and lingers in your body for hours after you’ve drunk it, disrupting sleep. By switching to decaf at least some of the time, you can enjoy tea and coffee, while keeping your hormones in check too.
Exercise
Regular exercise helps to balance hormones, and can even make period symptoms easier to manage. So, whether you’re getting on the mats, lifting weights or going for a walk, your body is happiest when you move it regularly.
What have you noticed impacts your hormonal health? Leave a comment below.
References:
https://www.aia.com/en/health-wellness/healthy-living/healthy-body/Hormonal-imbalance-in-women
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8506209/
https://www.thensf.org/good-light-bad-light-and-better-sleep/#:~:text=Timing%20Matters,is%20ready%20to%20fall%20asleep.
https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2024/05/protein-and-womens-health
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine
https://www.verywellmind.com/caffeine-stress-and-your-health-3145078
https://www.forthwithlife.co.uk/blog/hormones-and-exercise/#:~:text=Regular%2C%20gentle%20exercise%20supports%20the,you%20fuel%20your%20body%20with.
Cover photo by Odiseo Castrejon on Unsplash