Yes, it is totally possible to make or break your hormone balance over a weekend.
Hormones are chemical messengers that will tell your body and its organs to function in a specific way. When hormones go out of balance, we end up with issues like hypothyroidism, obesity, PCOS, insomnia, Diabetes , endometriosis, low sperm count, fibroid. While treating these issues, doctors focus on the specific hormone that is causing the issue. They do not treat the core issue of hormonal imbalance in the body. No hormone can carry out its function optimally without interacting with or influencing other hormones .
What majority of people focus on are the major hormones namely:
- Thyroid
- Insulin
- Estrogen(women) or Testoserone(men)
- Progesterone
Some of the other hormones that often get neglected but are responsible for keeping us happy, calm, and energetic are
- Serotonin – Happy hormone that stabilizes mood
- Dopamine – Pleasure hormone responsible for motivation and focus
- GABA – induces calm, sleep , reduces anxiety and fear .
- Cortisol –stress hormone and affects insulin sensitivity and sleep
- Melatonin –hormone responsible for sound sleep
- Growth hormone – GH Improves muscles mass and heart health
- DHEA – Fights fat accumulation and essential to produce sex hormones
Overlooking these lesser known hormones are also the reason for us becoming moody, having mood swings and low energy levels, suffering from depression , being unable to sleep well, and having high levels of stress. These issues will not get better with medication for hormonal imbalances.
What does a weekend mean for many?
We have created a norm of struggling and stressing ourselves through the week and pushing ourselves just to relax over the weekend.
What most of us aim to do over the weekend is enjoy, relax, rejuvenate/energize ourselves for the week ahead. Many people do this by sleeping late, watching movies or television series late at night, binge eating, drinking alcoholic drinks, waking up late, eating out or ordering food from outside.
While we believe that doing all or some of the things listed above is what is bliss and relaxation, what we are actually doing is disrupting our circadian /biological clock and thus the hormonal balance in our body.
Doing any of these, could also increase inflammation, toxins, stress hormones, insulin resistance and interfere with the production of serotonin, melatonin, thyroid, DHEA, GABA and dopamine Progesterone in women and testosterone is men.
How can we make a weekend work towards our hormonal harmony?
Do what you really want the weekend to do to you – Relax, rejuvenate and energize.
Relax – By listening to your favourite music, by meditating, by having a full body massage and deep conditioning hair and skin with herbal oil or any oil + essential oil of your choice. (Remember the weekly ceremonial oil bath that we used to have a few decades ago?) This will increase your serotonin, melatonin, GABA , reduce cortisol and ofcourse improve your skin and hair.
Rejuvenate – By sleeping on time, waking up by sunrise and getting a morning workout, be it a beach run or a hike will set your circadian clock. This will increase your dopamine, serotonin , insulin sensitivity and also help you detox.
Energize – Nourish your body and soul , with home-made food and family. Cook and eat as a family, meet and spend time with real people (in person not via Whatsapp or Messenger)
Doing these will also help us in calming down and improving energy levels, sleep , productivity , fat burn and metabolism.
Spending weekends like this often will make you enjoy life, and also weekdays , so you don’t have Monday morning blues
Interested in losing fat and balancing hormones sustainably? Check out our programs
How do you spend your weekends? Let us know in comments
