Sleep and BHRT

Happy March to all our Revitalize Patients! This month we want to focus on one of the most important aspects of health; SLEEP!

At Revitalize, we love helping patients optimize their quality of sleep, as well as helping them get their recommended eight hours each night!

LOSING SLEEP? BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES COULD HELP

There are different causes of insomnia, but hormonal imbalances are among the big triggers. No wonder sleep disorders become more prevalent in men and women as they age. Not only do menopausal women find it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep, but they also spend less time in rapid eye movement REM sleep when they do sleep. If you are having trouble sleeping or have been feeling less rested after waking up, hormone optimization could help!

How Declining Hormones Negatively Affect Sleep

Different hormones in the body play different roles in promoting quality sleep. A decline in these hormones can jeopardize your sleep. Here’s just a small sample of how different hormonal imbalances negatively can affect your sleep:

• Low progesterone: Progesterone is a hormone that calms the brain and reduces anxiety. This hormone declines sharply when a woman enters perimenopause, often causing night sweats. Without its calming effect on the brain, you may experience high levels of anxiety that can exacerbate insomnia.
• Low estrogen: Estrogen is a hormone that helps to regulate blood sugar. When this hormone decreases, your blood sugar can rise, causing weight gain and wakefulness. 
• Low testosterone: There’s a link between low testosterone and sleep deprivation in both men and women. Sleep apnea inhibits REM sleep and reduces testosterone, which in turn creates more sleep disturbances along with other symptoms associated with low testosterone.
• Low DHEA: DHEA is an adrenal hormone that helps build bone and muscle. Like other hormones, DHEA declines with age. Low DHEA levels are linked to muscle weakness, which includes the pelvic floor, probably causing you to wake up several times at night to go to the bathroom.
• Underactive or overactive thyroid: Thyroid affects cells in the body, including the brain cells for serotonin, which is a brain chemical that affects sleep. When your thyroid is either underactive or overactive, your sleep is likely to be negatively affected.

Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy for Improved Sleep

If hormonal imbalances are negatively affecting your sleep, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) may be a solution. BHRT is a well-known treatment for relief of insomnia and other aging symptoms caused by hormonal imbalances. Many clinical studies have reported improvements to sleep quality in those who use hormone replacement therapy effectively. The benefits of using BHRT include:

• Helps you to fall asleep faster
• Reduces nighttime awakenings
• Strengthens sleep cycles 
• Eliminate night sweats and hot flashes
• Boosts REM sleep 
• Reduces mood swings and levels of anxiety

To learn more about the health benefits of sleep and why it’s so important, we at Revitalize recommend one of our favorite books, Why We Sleep (Unlocking The Power of Sleep and Dreams) by Matthew Walker. 

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