Thyroid. An overactive or underactive thyroid can often be the underlying cause of fatigue, particularly in women. This hormone controls your body's metabolic rate i.e. how food is converted to energy.
Some of these hormones can make you feel tired, including: Melatonin. Serotonin. Oestrogen.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of a hormone imbalance. Excess progesterone can make you sleepy. And if your thyroid -- the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck -- makes too little thyroid hormone, it can sap your energy. A simple blood test called a thyroid panel can tell you if your levels are too low.
Fatigue and Sleep Issues
Estrogen is intimately linked to serotonin, and serotonin makes melatonin. Melatonin is the primary sleep hormone. This means, if you've been sleeping less and feeling fatigued, you could have low estrogen.
When your period starts, your levels of oestrogen and progesterone are at their lowest. This is known to cause a dip in energy. If you also experience cramps, you might find that the first few days of your period are a time for relaxation rather than fast-paced activity.
High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females. In males, they can cause breast tissue growth, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Adrenal hormones, predominantly cortisol has been found to have a direct relationship with fatigue. Studies show reduced function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis as well as hypocortisolism (reduced cortisol levels, seen via reduced salivary cortisol levels), in people suffering with fatigue.
A sex hormone imbalance, commonly experienced during perimenopause and menopause, or at any point in a women's reproductive years, is a well-established trigger for fatigue. Hot flashes, night sweats, and PMS symptoms can disrupt sleep, leading to ongoing fatigue and lack of energy.
This testing looks at the levels of cortisol and DHEA in your body, which can give a better understanding of how your adrenals are functioning. If they're low, it might show that you have fatigue or tiredness because your adrenals aren't doing their job effectively to produce energy.
In most cases, there's a reason for the fatigue. It might be allergic rhinitis, anemia, depression, fibromyalgia, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease (COPD), a bacterial or viral infection, or some other health condition.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Thus, HRT may effectively treat fatigue and the symptoms that can exacerbate it. In particular, estrogen replacement is considered the most effective treatment for the vasomotor symptoms that tend to occur in concert with fatigue and can be instrumental in restoring energy levels.
Estrogen dominance can affect a woman's body in many ways, including abnormal menstruation (heavy/painful periods), PMS, headaches, decreased sex drive, bloating, mood swings, fatigue, anxiety & depression, breast tenderness, endometriosis, fibroids, and hormonal weight gain.
Some conditions that cause fatigue include thyroid disorders, iron deficiency anemia, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, and COVID-19. Some other causes of fatigue may involve your diet, sleep, and levels of stress. Lifestyle changes can often improve feelings of fatigue in these situations.
Some women find that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) helps with their fatigue. HRT is an effective way of managing menopause symptoms and can improve the overall quality of your life, energy levels and sleep.
Reasons for fatigue in females include high sleep debt, being out of sync with your circadian rhythm, your menstrual cycle and period, pregnancy, menopause, hormonal contraceptives, poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and anxiety, medication side effects, and medical conditions like thyroid issues or anemia.
Depression and anxiety affect women in their estrogen-producing years more often than men or postmenopausal women. Estrogen is also linked to mood disruptions that occur only in women -- premenstrual syndrome, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and postpartum depression.
Estrogen is responsible for an increase in cortisol and testosterone levels, which naturally increase energy levels.
Depletion of estrogen can increase the risk of cardiovascular issues, such as heart attacks, strokes, or other heart-related problems. Other issues can interfere with organ function, skin, urinary, bone and reproductive organs, and may cause serious problems if left untreated.