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Why Your Hormones Change as You Age and What You Can Do About It
Most people have been told that getting old isn’t that much fun. However, it’s not worth turning a blind eye to the potential obstacles you’ll face as you continue to age. Understanding the various ways your hormones can change as you age can help you to better understand how to deal with the change.
What Changes?
As you age, your body undergoes some notable changes. First, the pituitary gland of the brand hits its maximum size around middle age. Then, it will start to get smaller. Since the pituitary gland is the production center for various hormones throughout your body and their storage location, it’s easy to see why hormonal changes happen as you age.
The Specific Hormones That Decrease
When it comes to looking at a broader perspective of how aging changes the body, there are four main types of hormones that decrease in all bodies. These include calcitonin, growth hormone, renin, and aldosterone. For men, testosterone is a fifth hormone that decreases with age. For women, there are an additional two hormones that decrease with age on top of the original four mentioned above. These are estrogen and prolactin.
What Should You Do About It?
Now, since you know what hormones are likely to decrease as you get older, you can better identify where each hormone level is at. Pay close attention to notable changes in your lifestyle that can signal that one of the above hormones is lacking in production. Only once you know what hormones you’re not producing as much of as you have in the past, can you look for a method of treatment. There are tons of treatments for different conditions such as testosterone replacement.
Talk With Your Doctor
Depending on the hormones that your body is lacking, you may or may not be able to directly treat the problem. For women, menopause comes along with a natural decrease in estrogen. If you’re experiencing menopause, your doctor can prescribe estrogen therapy to assist with reducing unpleasant symptoms. For other types of hormones, your doctor may be able to prescribe a management plan that can help you to better adapt to the decrease in hormone production.
Aging happens to every human being regardless of gender or ethnicity. It can be a scary process, to say the least. By taking the time now to understand the changes that your body may be going through, you can better prepare yourself for taking action or learning coping techniques when it happens.
