How To Know If Your Hormones Might Be Off

You only have one body, and it's important to make sure it's functioning as efficiently as possible. If you don't pay close attention, it might be difficult to know when your hormones might not be balanced. Such imbalances can mess with our moods, wellbeing, and daily tasks. If you noticed that you're feeling off, and not so much like yourself, it's time to see a physician or check in with yourself on implementing healthier habits to get back on track.

As a certified health coach, I work with clients on making sure that their bodies are feeling fit, energized, and also well rested so that they can feel their best selves and feel most productive during the day. If my clients start to feel tired and weighed down, or more irritable or hungrier than usual, it could mean that their hormones aren't balanced, and they need to take measures to get their body back to a happy, normal state. If you recognize that your body feels like it's not working as best as possible, especially during workouts, bedtime, or during a busy day at the office, it could signal a problem that should be addressed through a doctor visit. If left too long, it can become chronic, and this could hurt wellbeing long-term. Here are 11 ways to know that you might have a hormonal imbalance.

1. Acne

"This is the most obvious/visceral symptom of unbalanced hormone," advises Kaitlin Holliday, Chief of Staff of Exo, over email with Bustle. "Make sure you're also drinking enough water, and staying away from processed foods and sugars," Holliday recommends. By doing these measures, your skin will be fresher and less apt to get blemishes.

2. Low Sex Drive

"Having a low libido - a sudden decrease or change in sex drive can sometimes be related to stress, but can also be linked to deeper hormonal problems as well," advises Holliday. If you notice that you're feeling less frisky and sexual than usual, it could be do to a hormonal imbalance.

3. You're Not Sleeping Enough

"If you don't get your sleep, you will be suppressing needed bodily function with subsequent health detriment," says CEO of Restworks, Christopher Lindholst over email with Bustle. If you're not sleeping, it could alter your hormones in providing stable energy in the day, advises Lindholst. If "you regularly and often find yourself dozing off (or really fighting to avoid it) when put in a non-active situation: e.g. sitting listening in a meeting, as a passenger in a car, while reading or watching tv," it could be a sign, Lindholst suggests.

4. You're Irritable

If you notice that you're grumpier and more irritable than usual, it could be a signal that your body isn't functioning optimally due to lack of sleep and other hindrances, advises Lindholst. Take advice from relationships: if your friends or co-workers are starting to get annoyed with you or are becoming distant, it could mean your temperament is whacked.

5. Your Appetite Is Off

Lindholst warns against unregulated appetite, where you're too hungry or not hungry enough, when hormones are unbalanced, and the body isn't working as efficiently as possible. He says that typically eating more is common, where ghrelin and leptin, the hunger stimulating and suppressing hormones, are fluctuating.

6. You're Getting Sick Often

Over email with Bustle, certified healthy lifestyle coach Liz Traines says that if you're getting sick too often, it could signal a hormonal imbalance. When your hormones aren't working properly, your immunity can decrease, leading to greater tendencies for illness and days of fatigue.

7. You're Brain Is Foggy

Traines says that an inability to focus on tasks and forgetfulness can be signs of a hormonal balance issue, and if left unattended to, it can lead to missing out on some pretty important info. Think about how well you're working on career assignments, or how often you forgot a social commitment or a set of keys at home, as examples.

8. You Have Digestive Woes

Over email with Bustle, running coach and personal trainer Susie Lemmer says that digestive issues can come as a result of hormonal imbalances, as hormones can mess with your digestion and appetite. Also, stress, which can mess with hormones, can also act on your belly, leading to discomfort and abnormal bowel movements, advises Lemmer.

9. You're Growing Hair

Of course, growing beautiful long locks on your head can be a great thing (for people who like that sort of look), but growing abnormally thick hair on the rest of the body? Not so much. Over interview with Health, Alyssa Dweck, MD, an OB-GYN at the Mount Kisco Medical Group in New York, explained that you might experience rapid hair growth on chest, back, and arms.

10. Your Period Is Off

Dweck also noted in the article that a lack of a regular period could signal a hormonal imbalance, with changing estrogen and progesterone levels. Dweck explained that some conditions that affect hormones, like thyroid disease, stress, low estrogen, and polycystic ovary syndrome, can cause a period to not be regular.

11. Your Weight Fluctuates

If you notice a substantial change in weight loss or gain, that seems unexplainable, it could be a sign that hormones are out of whack and the body is not operating as optimally as it should. Due to changing levels of estrogen, weight gain is especially prevalent. If you notice any worrisome change, see a physician.

Having imbalanced hormones can mess with mood, energy levels, productivity, happiness, sleep, and appetite, among other lifestyle areas, so it's important to stay in touch with your body's happenings and see a physician upon a sign of worry.

Images: Pixabay (7); Pexels (5); Bustle