What happened to your sexual health, your favorite body, or your ability to remember why you walked into the next room? These are questions I commonly hear from women. Our hormones impact everything! Everything? Blood sugar, blood pressure, metabolism, sleep, fertility, skin, hair, memory, mood, muscle mass, and more.
Often, our hormones start to decline in our early 30s, causing us to feel less like ourselves. No, thank you!
What can you do to optimize your hormones as you age? As an expert in helping people find balance, here are my non-negotiables:
- Prioritize sleep
- Get morning sunlight
- Manage stress
- Lift weights
- Walk daily
- Get adequate protein
- Spend time with people you love
Sleep needs to be a priority because that’s when our bodies regenerate. A lack of sleep often equals suboptimal hormone production. Similarly, sunlight exposure in the first two hours of the day sets our circadian rhythm, which tells our hormones when to do what they’re supposed to do.
Stress will crush your hormones. Remove the stressors that you can, and find ways to mitigate stress that you cannot control. Meanwhile, lifting weights boosts hormone production because muscle is a hormone-signaling organ. Body fat, however, increases inflammation and lowers our ability to bind to hormones.
Go for a walk every day. Walking is one of the most underrated ways to help your health. It increases metabolism, helps lower inflammation, and improves lymphatic system function. For my favorite two-for-one boost, you can walk first thing in the morning to get moving and get early sunlight exposure.
When you get adequate protein, you can build lean muscle mass, making it easier for your body to make and utilize hormones. Reserves of amino acids (proteins) are needed to build muscle and create hormones and neurotransmitters.
How does spending time with people you love impact your hormones? Research has repeatedly shown that it helps lower stress, increases your mood, and is even related to extending your life.
If you want additional help balancing your hormones, consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. The treatment isn’t indicated for everyone, but it can be highly beneficial for some women.
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It’s easy to overcomplicate health, but I believe health and happy hormones are in the basics. It’s not what you do once in a while that matters; it’s what you do most of the time that makes all the difference!