Introduction
Because of my overactive brain at any time of day, I always have big problems falling asleep in the evenings and at night. Recently this problem (if, of course, it can be called a problem) has worsened and started manifesting also in the fact that sometimes in the middle of the night I can wake up and again not fall asleep for a long time. One possible cause is the presence of some stress or nervous tension, because besides this, in recent weeks my eye has also often been twitching. And if with tests and vitamins things are mostly okay (since I took them in one of the latest routine examinations), then with hormones I decided to look into it in a bit more detail.
Theoretical part
I will not consider all possible hormones, because I do not know all of them myself, but I will describe only some of them — namely hormones that bring joy, and especially those that bring stress and anxiety. I will also emphasize that I am not a medic, and my assumption is merely speculative in nature.
I will try to divide hormones into “good” and “bad”. However, it is important to remember that in reality there are no good and bad hormones. Both play an important role in the human body, and problems begin when they are imbalanced.
So, to the “good” ones I will definitely include:
- Melatonin — a hormone that helps you fall asleep, and also a powerful antioxidant that regulates circadian rhythms. It is produced at night and in the dark. And right now, by the way, it is summer, the nights are very short, and with constant busyness even in the late evening/early morning there may well not be enough of it. Older people may especially have problems, since their melatonin production is also hindered. Melatonin itself can be taken in small dosages even without a doctor’s prescription during time zone changes, flights, stress and other circumstances.
- Serotonin — this is the “good mood hormone”, it stabilizes emotions and participates in the regulation of sleep, appetite and pain. It acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, and in the blood it participates in the regulation of other processes. Unlike melatonin, as a substance directly it is not prescribed, however it can be taken in the form of other means, for example, in the same antidepressants. It is also present in various food products (by the way, like melatonin), but perhaps in slightly greater abundance.
- Oxytocin — this is the “love” hormone. It increases trust, empathy, is important in social bonds, and plays a considerable role, for example, in childbirth. It exists in the form of medical preparations, but in active form it is not contained in food products, although there are products that indirectly promote its production.
- Dopamine — this is the hormone of motivation and pleasure, it launches interest and reward, and also participates in the control of movements and cognitive processes. As a person who has written 2 books on productivity, it was very interesting for me to learn this information.
- Endorphins — in themselves they are neuropeptides, not hormones, but they can perform hormone-like functions. They reduce pain and influence emotional state.
- Some other important substances, which, as a rule, are mentioned less often due to being less popular, and also due to the fact that I know far less about them, I will simply list in a general list below. Moreover, far from all of those listed are hormones in the classical understanding:
- Acetylcholine — improves attention, memory, focus.
- GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) — reduces anxiety, promotes relaxation.
- Anandamide — the molecule of bliss, acts as a natural cannabinoid.
- Sex hormones — testosterone and estrogen support energy, libido and general mood when at a balanced level.
Although they are not as “media-famous” as serotonin or dopamine, their contribution to general psychophysical health is also great.
Now the time has come to highlight the “bad” hormones: the hormones of anxiety, panic and worry:
- Adrenaline — the most popular and well-known. It quickly mobilizes in danger: it speeds up the pulse and breathing and gives a surge of energy. Most often it is administered by injection, but, as far as I know, it is not produced in tablet form for oral intake. It is not contained directly in food products either, although by consuming, say, caffeine or other stimulating products, one can indirectly stimulate its small production.
- Cortisol — the main “stress hormone”, it helps the body cope with load. But with chronic elevation it affects immunity, sleep, weight, anxiety. In certain cases it may be prescribed in the form of drugs (for example, for autoimmune diseases and other serious illnesses). Again, some food products can indirectly cause its increase (for example, coffee or alcohol, though, as in the case of adrenaline, the effect depends on dosage and individual characteristics).
- Noradrenaline — similar in effect to adrenaline: it enhances alertness and anxiety, and with excessive activity it is associated with panic attacks and anxiety disorders.
- Other hormones and substances that are less known to most people:
- Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) — launches the stress cascade.
- Glucagon — under stress it raises blood sugar levels, indirectly supporting a stress state.
By the way, to be more precise and go deeper, some of these terms can act both as hormones and as neurotransmitters (this depends on the specific application and the place where and how they act). For simplicity I omitted this and generalized it under the word “hormones”.
You can see the final table of the main “bad” and “good” hormones below:
| Substance | Is it available in tablets/preparations? | Is it present in food products? | Main application / effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melatonin | Yes (tablets, capsules for sleep) | Yes (in some products, for example, cherries) | Regulation of sleep, circadian rhythms, antioxidant |
| Serotonin | No (not prescribed directly) | Yes (in products with tryptophan — turkey, bananas, nuts, etc.) | Regulation of mood, sleep, appetite, pain |
| Oxytocin | Yes (injections, sprays — for childbirth, lactation) | No direct content | Social bonds, trust, childbirth, lactation |
| Dopamine | Indirectly (medicines that increase the level) | No | Motivation, pleasure, control of movements, cognitive functions |
| Endorphins | No (produced by the body) | No | Pain relief, mood improvement |
| Adrenaline | Yes (injections, not in tablets) | No | “Fight or flight” reaction, emergency aid (for example, in shock situations) |
| Cortisol | Yes (preparations with corticosteroids) | No direct content | Regulation of stress, metabolism, inflammation |
| Noradrenaline | Yes (injections, preparations for shock) | No | Enhancement of alertness, anxiety, regulation of blood pressure |
Where did “bad” hormones come from and are they needed in the 21st century?
Any hormones in the familiar form we have now came to us through long evolution. We almost never ask why “good” hormones are needed. The regulation of sleep and the feeling of constant satisfaction and happiness are important criteria for the survival and existence of humanity. It is hard for us without well-established deep sleep, without motivation, communication, trust and other feelings.
But along with the good feelings and emotions that we are able to feel through hormones, evolution brought us “bad” ones too. Nature invented for us an excellent mechanism of “fight or flight”, which is activated by adrenaline during temporary danger, and also by cortisol during constant danger. When you live in a cave or simply hunt wild animals, at any moment danger may come in the form of a tiger, lion, wolf or other predatory and faster animals than humans. If we did not have such protective mechanisms, it is quite possible that humanity as a species would not exist now.
However, now it is the 21st century, and the vast majority of people live in cities, have their own apartment and buy food in a store. There is no longer any risk of being eaten and torn apart by a wild animal. Even many natural phenomena humans are already able to actively predict and prevent. However, the hormones of panic and stress are still with us. Why does this happen and why have they not gone anywhere? The answer is in the same evolution. Humans quite quickly by evolutionary standards radically changed their usual way of life. They left the cave and put on an office suit. All this happened quite quickly. So quickly that evolution simply did not have time to adjust its levers of control over humans. And all the so-called “bad” hormones, which earlier activated in us in various stressful situations when human life was in danger, remained with us to this day. They remained with us and activate in the most ordinary life situations that differ even a little from everyday routine. We do not need to fight in offices for food or fear that a neighboring company with spears will attack us, however there are a bunch of other factors that can still cause us anxiety and a sense of danger: a call from the boss, fear of oversleeping for work, fear of being fired and other similar situations. At the same time, none of them actually carries even an indirect, not to mention direct, threat to people’s lives. However, like primitive people, stress hormones continue to work in us and be produced practically in the same volume as thousands of years ago. Considering that there is nowhere to run and there is no need to fight in the office either, this “energy” (as much as I love this word) accumulates in the body and is not used. It simply “burns inside”, sometimes in the form of not the most pleasant side effects in the form of nervous diseases and even mental disorders. But even when such energy and adrenaline are splashed outward, people often do complete nonsense and even illegal actions (for example, teenagers train-surf on trams or visit dangerous and abandoned places). One can conclude that such hormones work too well, trigger more often than needed, and this, in turn, also negatively affects the body, as if these hormones did not exist at all.
Is life without stress hormones possible? If purely theoretically trying to answer this question, then even at the initial stage one cannot unambiguously say that these hormones are not needed. These hormones save people in truly dangerous situations, where often the matter concerns a large number of people; someone may work as a bus driver or pilot a plane, and in an emergency these hormones will help preserve not only their own life but also the lives of others. These hormones can give a short-term surge of strength during sports, performances on stage, exams and other unpleasant or exhausting situations. However, in reality there are not so many such situations, and, as I noted above, only a small part of them is really directly connected with people’s lives. In at least half of cases, the hormones that came to us from ancient times work too well and actively, and it would be nice to reduce or at least correct them. The problem is that blocking them independently at the level of preparations is wrong, because many other processes of the body are built around these very “bad” hormones. Perhaps in thousands or tens of thousands of years evolution itself will come to this (if, of course, scientists do not invent some safe modifications at the DNA level). And then our body will not react to a call from the boss and the fear of oversleeping as if a predatory beast were chasing you. Well, for now psychologists and neurologists have to independently correct this defect of evolution.
