How to Manage Your Hormones for the Benefit of Your Health
We all have hormones and how we manage those hormones greatly depends on how we look after ourselves both physically and mentally. Hormones - from a scientific description - are chemical substances that act as messengers within the body.
How you care for your body and the attention you give it, will likely impact how your hormones present themselves. Of course, there are medical interventions that can be introduced for those who are looking to help with hormone imbalances but for the most part, how you look after your body can influence the hormonal balance.
Here are a few tips for managing your hormones for the benefit of your health in 2023.
Maintain a healthy weight
While keeping fit and making sure you’re healthy is key, maintaining a healthy weight is also recommended. Of course, genetics might come into play here where some individuals are a lot denser in weight and no amount of exercise or healthy eating is going to change that.
At the end of the day, making sure you’re eating healthily and exercise is the main thing. The last thing you want to do is try to go to the extremes of losing weight as this is only likely going to cause hormonal imbalance as a result.
With that in mind, maintain a healthy weight without having to go the extremes to achieve what is considered a healthy weight on average.
Eat well but eat what you enjoy
When it comes to managing your hormones, it’s important to eat well. The food you put into your body plays an important part in your hormones and how you feel on a daily basis. It’s easy to try and adapt your diet to the recommended health foods but what if you don’t like the taste or enjoy eating these foods?
Eating food should be enjoyable, not a chore or something you don’t look forward to. As long as you’re eating in moderation then this is likely to be more beneficial for your hormones than trying out foods that you really don’t enjoy eating.
Get enough shut-eye every night
There are often clear distinctions between having a good night’s sleep versus having a bad night’s sleep in your mood and well-being. A lack of sleep is clearly going to shift your hormones in a negative direction, whereas getting a good night’s sleep is going to help you feel refreshed and ready to face the day with positive vibes.
If you’re not getting more than seven hours of sleep per night, then you’re not getting enough shut-eye. Sleep is important to help repair the body and reenergize yourself for the next day. To help manage your hormones better, start going to bed early or getting up slightly later in the morning.
Aim for around eight to nine hours of sleep per night as this will ensure your body and mind is ready to go the next day. If you struggle to get to sleep at night, try to introduce changes that will help you fall asleep quicker. These could include any of the following:
Find productive ways to manage your stress
- Invest in blackout blinds or curtains
- Use an eye mask
- Switch off from your phone an hour before bedtime
- Enjoy a relaxing bath before bed
- Get into your loungewear earlier on in the evening
Stress is an emotion that can certainly disrupt the chemical messengers that influence how you feel in your body. The more stress you’re under, the more it does damage to both your physical and mental well-being.
With that being said, it’s important to try and control stress, including where it comes from. There are some stress-related environments that you might be able to remove yourself from and take more control over.
However, there are going to be times when stress is inevitable and it’s important to try to find outlets that can counter the stress in your life. Whether that be taking up a new hobby or finding something that completely distracts you from the stress itself.
The more productive ways you can manage your stress, the better you’re going to feel on the inside.
Quit smoking and reduce alcohol intake
Smoking has a significant influence on your health and well-being. There is research that suggests nicotine’s impact on male hormone levels offers somewhat of a boost but that is accompanied by mixed opinions.
If you’re looking to improve and manage your hormonal balance, then it’s worth trying to quit smoking and reduce your alcohol intake too.
Both of these bad habits can negatively influence your health, especially if consumed in excess. If you’re smoking too much or drinking to excess, you’re likely to see some significant damage being done to your physical health.
Not only that but both can play on your mental well-being, which is just as damaging if you’re not careful.
Quitting either can be challenging, especially if you’re addicted to one, the other, or both. It might be best to reduce your intake and use alternatives to help wean off what are essentially drugs. You might also want to consider getting professional help if you’re really struggling to cope.
Exercise regularly
Finally, if you’re looking to manage your hormones effectively to improve your overall health, then try to exercise regularly. Exercising regularly is something that can certainly help with your physical health and that ties into your mental wellbeing too.
Again, like eating food, working out should be enjoyable. That might mean trying to find something that brings you joy when it comes to the types of exercise available. Chances are, you’ve not yet found something that doesn’t feel like exercise - which is the best kind of exercise. Try different options out until you find something you truly love doing.
Managing your hormones takes time. After all, it takes time to learn about your body, what it needs, and what might negatively impact it. Hopefully, with these tips, you’ll be one step closer to balancing your hormones for the better.