A report from The Conversation explores how hormones impact sleep.
Sleep is a time when several of the body’s hormones are released into the bloodstream. These include growth hormone, which is essential for growth and tissue repair, including in adults.
Sleep helps to balance our appetite by maintaining optimal levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin. So, when we get less sleep than normal we may feel an urge to eat more.
Sleep also controls levels of the hormones insulin and cortisol so that we wake up hungry, prompting us to eat breakfast, and we are prepared for facing daytime stress.
If we get less sleep than normal our levels of prolactin may get out of balance and we can end up with a weakened immune system, difficulty concentrating and carbohydrate cravings during the day.
