The human body is equipped with hormones that flow through the bloodstream. The body’s hormones have various types and functions. Hormones are chemicals in the body produced by endocrine glands that have different effects on the performance of the organs of the human body. Growth function, body metabolism, and reproductive organ performance are included in the organs that are influenced by hormones. Although every human being has hormones, the performance of hormones in women is different from that of men. Reproductive hormones in women, for example, have various types and different functions.
1. Progesterone hormone
This hormone plays an important role in the passage of the menstrual cycle and ovulation. When the egg matures because it is fertilized by a sperm, this hormone will increase in the woman’s body so that the uterus does not produce new eggs. Also, this hormone functions to prepare the body to produce breast milk.
2. Estrogen hormone
In general, this hormone functions in the development of the female body, especially in the puberty phase. This hormone regulates the development of the function of female sexual organs, including the process of ovulation in the menstrual cycle each month. In addition, this hormone also has a big role in the production of breast milk after giving birth.
3. Testosterone hormone
Although this hormone is known as the male sex hormone, it has an important role in female sexual function. The difference between the male and female testosterone hormones is the levels they contain. Generally, testosterone levels in women’s bodies are not as high as men’s.
However, the function of this hormone in the female body is different from the testosterone hormone in the male body. In a woman’s body, this hormone plays a role in regulating female sexual arousal, as well as maintaining vaginal, breast and fertility health.
Whereas in the male body, this hormone already exists to function as a reproductive hormone in men even since they are still in the womb.
In addition to playing a role in the reproductive system, hormones also play a role in body growth and development, food digestion, nutrient absorption, sleep cycles, and cognitive function. Unfortunately, due to the demands of life and the rapid development of the times, humans have a bad lifestyle. As a result of a poor lifestyle on hormone performance, of course, hormones become imbalanced.
This hormonal imbalance affects the health of the human body. Usually the body will give a signal that the hormones in the body are having problems. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that the hormones in their body are having problems.
Changes in the menstrual cycle that are irregular every month in women can be an indication that hormones are having problems. If the menstrual cycle in women every month normally lasts between 21 to 35 days. However, if menstruation does not run smoothly every month or it stops altogether, this could be a problem on the reproduction hormonal system.
Then, there is a change in sleep patterns. Human body naturally has a biological clock, also known as the circadian cycle. This cycle shows the mechanism for regulating the time the human organs work automatically, including daily sleep hours.
This system changes accordingly to each individual’s lifestyle. Usually, the older you get, the more regular a person’s sleep will be. However, not everyone can have a good sleep. Usually this happens to shift workers, jet lag, stress that is not managed properly, and also those who like to stay up late.
The following characteristics that can indicate a hormonal imbalance in the body is the growth of chronic acne. In women, acne usually appears when they are in the premenstrual period (PMS). However, if there are more pimples that appear and don’t go away, it could be an indication that your hormones are out of balance. Then, changes in appetite patterns, cannot eat at all or there is an increase in eating patterns, easy to feel tired, mood that goes up and down quickly can also indicate a hormonal imbalance.
Routine exercise every 30 minutes and routinely done five times a week, consuming fruits and vegetables every day, diligently drinking water so that the body can be well hydrated, doing meditation and journaling are some steps that can help balance hormones in the body.
Intake of food consumed also needs to be considered. For example, reduce the consumption of caffeine and alcoholic beverages. Due to the demands of work, usually the workers who still have to work overtime consume more coffee to keep them awake. However, the caffeine content in coffee can interfere with our sleeping hours and can trigger hormonal changes in the body.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has an influence on the performance of hormones in the body. If we are routine and able to maintain our lifestyle, of course it will have a good impact on our health in the future.