Hormones serve as the body’s chemical messengers, helping to manage various bodily functions. Mood, metabolism, sexual function, and sleep are a few of many functions that hormones help regulate.
Your body’s hormone production can fluctuate over the years. However, when you age, there are distinct changes to the body’s hormone levels that can lead to undesirable symptoms.
Here, we’ll discuss the natural hormonal changes that occur with age and what you can do to offset hormonal imbalances in older age.
Hormones During The Aging Process
The natural aging process alters various bodily systems. The production of certain hormones declines with age. Additionally, certain parts of the body can become less responsive to the hormone that controls it.
One of the most notable hormonal changes that occur with age is a decrease in estrogen and testosterone. These changes lead to what’s known as menopause in women and andropause in men.
Menopause
Menopause occurs 12 months after a woman’s last menstrual cycle. This typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. The transition to menopause (known as perimenopause) occurs as the ovaries production of estrogen and progesterone (the female sex hormones) gradually decline.
During perimenopause, fluctuating hormone levels can lead to symptoms including:
- Mood fluctuations
- Vaginal dryness
- Chills
- Hot flashes
- Disrupted sleep
- Thinning hair
- Weight gain
- Low libido
- Fatigue
Andropause
“Andropause” is used to describe symptoms that men experience as the body’s testosterone production declines with age. Testosterone levels typically start to decrease around the age of 40 in men.
Symptoms of andropause typically include:
- Mood fluctuations
- Depression
- Muscle loss
- Weight gain
- Disrupted sleep
- Low libido
- Erectile dysfunction
- Fatigue
At A Place For Wellness, we offer BioTE® to help our patients achieve hormonal balance. This form of bio-identical hormone subcutaneous pellet therapy can help you overcome symptoms of menopause or andropause to retain your vitality in older age. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!