Home Health Can exercise cause your hormone imbalances?

Can exercise cause your hormone imbalances?

SHARE

Exercising is one of the natural ways to keep your body healthy. Some people even use exercise to improve their health. In some instances, people push themselves too hard to attain the desired results. 

But too much exercise can do you more harm than good. When you push too hard and fail to see any improvements, it could be because your hormones have been devastated.

Hormones are chemical messengers that transfer messages in your body. They stimulate growth and fertility, metabolism, and also mood. This keeps the body in a balanced state. 

When hormones are thrown into a state of devastation, they cannot send the correct message to the body. The miscommunication, as a result, makes it difficult for your body to achieve the intended goals. Several factors can affect your hormones, including stress, a high-sugar diet, or extreme exercise.

Does Exercising improve the state of your hormones?

Exercise can help balance your hormones as well as maintain balance. Thus, the amount of daily physical movement and activities is significant when balancing the hormones. 

However, it is vital to understand the hormones, especially those that are affected by exercise. This is because excess or little exercise may trigger the hormones to increase or reduce. Understanding the hormones will help you optimize the hormones when exercising.

Hormones affected by exercise

Estrogen

Estrogen hormone is responsible for reproductive and sexual development in women. But, estrogen works alongside progesterone. The two hormones must be kept in balance, or one of the hormones may cause havoc. 

Both hormones promote metabolism, enhance mood and also prevent stress. Excess estrogen can make your mood change and slow down your metabolism. Also, a lack of estrogen can worsen menopause symptoms. Luckily, estrogen levels can be boosted through exercise. Progesterone, on the other hand, can lead to endometriosis if the levels are above average.

Human Growth Hormone

Human Growth Hormone is an essential hormone in the body. It helps the body to utilize fats stored in the body to generate energy – other hormones, including epinephrine, control HGH. Exercise plays a crucial role in enhancing the production of HGH in the body. Once produced, HGH can help you lose weight through the excess elimination of fats.

Cortisol

Cortisol hormone is produced in the adrenal glands. It responds to exercise, stress, and low blood sugar. However, if the adrenal gland produces excess Cortisol, you will experience an increase in appetite.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. It controls blood sugar levels in the body. Blood sugar is used by the body to produce energy, and thus insulin is an essential part of metabolism. Insulin also signals the body to store fat. The level of insulin in the blood can rise with an increase in sugar and carbohydrate intake.

Epinephrine

Epinephrine hormone has several functions in the body. One of its roles is responding to stressful emotions in the body. Exercise stimulates the production of the epinephrine hormone. The hormone enhances the body’s metabolism, especially in the food we eat.

Progesterone

Progesterone hormone helps regulate the level of estrogen in the body. It thus plays a vital role in reproductive development in women. However, excess exercise can lower progesterone levels which increases the infertility risk factor in women.

Best exercises to improve hormonal imbalance

There are different exercises for hormonal imbalance for different cases. Hence, you must determine your case of imbalance or whether you are experiencing it. It is also essential to understand the factors throwing your hormones off balance so that you can avoid them. 

Stress and blood sugar are excellent examples of factors contributing to hormonal imbalance. For instance, excess fat in the body can increase stress leading to overproduction of hormones. 

Excess fat can also produce hormones that disrupt the other hormones. By understanding the hormones and the causes, you can take the right exercises.

The following are exercises you can try to balance your hormones:

  • Get a full-body workout. It is an excellent routine to get your hormones balanced. It involves engaging your whole body in different exercises for at least three days a week. Strength training ensures that hormones are fully engaged to avoid increased or reduced hormones.
  • Try to walk every day. As simple as it sounds, walking is an excellent exercise to balance your hormones effortlessly. A walk either in the morning and evening to and from work for at least five days a week is recommendable.
  • Get 5 minutes stretch. Stretching enhances your mood and, in return, eliminates stress. The level of stress hormones will decrease if you stretch often.