Women's health alert: Stress and sleep deprivation linked to hormonal imbalance

New Delhi (Uttam Hindu News): In today's fast-paced life, women are advancing as rapidly as they are facing challenges in their health. Household responsibilities and career pressures have had a profound impact on women's bodies. Hormones are particularly affected. Previously, hormonal imbalance was limited to age or specific circumstances, but now women of all ages, from teenagers to older women, are affected.

Both the Ministry of AYUSH and modern medical science agree that hormones maintain a delicate balance in the female body. These hormones determine when the body will be ready for menstruation, when pregnancy will occur, hair growth, skin appearance, and mental state. When these hormones become imbalanced, it not only causes physical illness but also impacts mental health.

Lack of sleep is a major contributor to hormonal imbalance. When the body doesn't get 7-8 hours of sleep daily, it becomes unable to repair itself. This directly impacts the stress hormone cortisol, which then disrupts other hormones. Additionally, persistent mental stress—such as anxiety, work pressure, and relationship tensions—can all disrupt important hormones like thyroid, estrogen, and progesterone.

Ayurveda also states that mental stability is linked to physical balance. When the mind is disturbed, hormonal balance also begins to deteriorate. Eating habits also exacerbate this imbalance. Packaged snacks, biscuits, cakes, frozen foods, and sugar-laden beverages available in the market all slow down the body's metabolism and increase inflammation. This impacts the hormonal system, especially insulin and estrogen levels, which can lead to diseases like PCOD. Additionally, consuming tea and coffee throughout the day and eating sweets destabilizes the body's blood sugar, which worsens insulin levels. Science believes that frequent blood sugar fluctuations are a major cause of hormonal imbalance.

Lack of physical activity is also a cause of hormonal imbalance. When women sit in a chair all day or ignore exercise, their metabolism slows down. Conversely, some women over-exercise to lose weight, which puts stress on the body and increases hormonal imbalance. Furthermore, women who eat late at night or whose meal times are not regular, their body clock, i.e., biological clock, gets disrupted. This affects both digestion and hormones.