As people are getting more accustomed to the modern, ever-busy yet sedentary lifestyle, issues such as feeling exhausted, gaining body fat, and difficulty sleeping are becoming all the more common.
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These make one’s brain feel slow, lower morale, and affect the overall quality of life. Despite popular belief, they do not always mean that an individual is lazy, undisciplined or getting old, according to Dr Vassily Eliopoulos, a longevity expert trained at Cornell University and co-founder and chief medical officer of Longevity Health. It just might be the symptoms of hormone burnout.
Taking to Instagram on June 26, Dr Vass explained what that is, why it happens, and what can be done to reverse it.
What is hormone burnout?
People often get worn down by stress, poor recovery, under-eating, overtraining, disrupted sleep, and ignoring the early signals the body is sending. In such cases, the hormones start to compensate until they cannot anymore. This is when things start to get difficult, noted Dr Vass.
The common signs of hormone burnout, as listed by Dr Vass, include:
- Low energy and mood swings
- Weight gain around the midsection
- Poor sleep or night waking
- Low libido and brain fog
- Burnout after workouts
The core hormones involved in hormone burnout are as follows:
- Cortisol: When cortisol levels are chronically elevated, one experiences fatigue, anxiety, and gains belly fat
- Testosterone / Estrogen: Low levels of testosterone or estrogen lead to low motivation, libido, and recovery
- Thyroid (T3/T4): Thyroid hormone disorder leads to sluggishness, including brain fog, cold hands, and slow metabolism
- Insulin: Greater insulin resistance in the body leads to fat gain, cravings, and sugar crashes
What causes hormone burnout?
As per Dr Vass, “These hormones don’t fail overnight; they get worn down.” The most prominent causes behind them include:
- Chronic stress
- Poor sleep quality
- Overtraining/under-recovering
- Crash dieting
- Ignoring lab work until symptoms hit
None of these works alone. It is together that they bring down an individual’s health.
How to reverse hormone burnout?
The good news about hormone burnout is that it is reversible. “Fix the environment the hormones live in, sleep, protein, strength training, blood sugar stability, labs and the entire system becomes responsive again,” noted Dr Vass. He listed out the ways as follows:
- Fix your sleep (deep sleep means hormone repair)
- Strength train two to four times per week
- Eat more protein and balance blood sugar
- Track labs (free T, cortisol, insulin, thyroid)
- Add peptide or hormone therapy only if needed
“You don’t need another crash diet. You don’t need more stimulants. You need a reset, not more pressure,” pointed out the physician.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
