A summer body is one thing. But have you been remembering to keep an eye on your hormone health?

There’s no denying that hormones are a complicated beast. They’re balanced, they’re not balanced, they’ve been thrown off by your diet, you’re suddenly feeling perimenopausal, you’ve changed up your birth control and suddenly you’re feeling all out of whack. There’s all sorts of things that can shake up your endocrine system, and it turns out that summer and the onset of warmer weather is one of them. 

 

How are your hormones affected by temperature?

 

You might think that hormones work independently of the outside world, but in reality, they can be influenced by all sorts of external factors – including, as it turns out, the weather! Your hormones can act a little differently when it’s hot outside, and this can impact the symptoms that you might feel. 

A recent study found that cortisol (more commonly known as ‘the stress hormone’) increases in warmer weather. The researchers, after testing saliva for cortisol on two non-consecutive days in summer and winter each, noted that during the winter months, the participants had noticeably higher cortisol levels. Typically, people associate the onset of colder weather with a dip in mental health, however, this might not be the case. 

 

Does the weather affect your period? 

 

Unfortunately, increases in temperature can exacerbate the physical symptoms of your period, and you might even experience a change in the length of your cycle. Your body’s internal temperature is already higher than normal when you’re menstruating, and so sudden increases in external temperature might leave you struggling to cope. 

Many women report feeling noticeably hotter before and during their period, and it’s been proven that your internal temperature rises as a result of menstruation. When it’s getting hotter outside, this can become more and more uncomfortable and harder to deal with. Scientists suggest that the temperature increases are related to the increase of progesterone just before the start of menstruation. 

Higher temperatures can also exacerbate other period symptoms – many women report persistent headaches along with the onset of their period. These can become worse in the warmer months, when many people forget to drink enough water, and become dehydrated, which can also cause headaches. The combination of the two can be quite formidable. 

Some research has also suggested that significant changes in weather or temperature can affect the length of your cycle, shortening or lengthening it by as much as a few days. Taking a holiday to an extremely hot country or an unexpected heatwave could be enough to disrupt your regular cycle. 

 

Menopause in the summer: 

 

One of the most notorious symptoms of menopause is the hot flush. Characterised by sudden feelings of intense warmth over the upper body, mostly in the neck, chest, and face, a hot flush can make you go red, cause you to sweat, and if you lose too much body heat, you might even feel chilled afterwards. They usually last between two and five minutes, and can happen at any time of the day or night (also known as night sweats). 

When it’s already too hot outside, experiencing regular hot flushes can be very difficult to deal with. If you’re struggling with menopause or perimenopause, consider a course of BHRT treatment to help ease your symptoms. 

 

How can the Marion Gluck Clinic help? 

 

At The Marion Gluck Clinic, we offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), which can be extremely helpful for all manner of hormonal imbalances. Compounded by Specialist Pharmacy, our bioidentical hormones are derived from diosgenin, which is sourced from Mexican yams or soy and then converted into hormones which are chemically identical to those the human body produces.

BHRT treatment is an extremely effective method of treating uncomfortable symptoms of a hormone imbalance. Each dose is specifically formulated to target and improve your personal hormone health, which makes for exceedingly successful treatment 

 

If you’d like to book a consultation with one of our expert doctors, please get in touch with us here. For more information on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or the conditions that we can treat, you can visit our website. If you want a monthly dose of Marion Gluck, sign up to our newsletter!