Estrogen levels fall naturally as we get older, particularly after menopause. But this drop occurs at different rates in different people, so for some, it may be hard to pinpoint when it’s happening because the signs of low estrogen don’t always look the same. That said, the vast majority of women experiences the number-one sign that estrogen could be low. And if you guessed that it’s something to do with your menstrual cycle, you may be surprised.
Meet the experts: Brynna Connor, M.D., a family medicine physician in Austin, TX, and the healthcare ambassador at NorthwestPharmacy.com; Elizabeth West, M.D., an ob/gyn with MemorialCare Medical Group in Long Beach, CA.
“While patients most commonly associate estrogen with the reproductive system, it’s not solely a reproductive hormone,” Brynna Connor, M.D., a family medicine physician in Austin, TX, and the healthcare ambassador at NorthwestPharmacy.com, previously told Prevention. Estrogen impacts a variety of systems and processes in the body. The one it has the most notable effect on when levels fall? Body temperature regulation.
“Most famously, low estrogen levels can cause vasomotor symptoms which are hot flashes and night sweats,” says Elizabeth West, M.D., an ob/gyn with MemorialCare Medical Group in Long Beach, CA. “These are the hallmark of menopause and a classic symptom of low estrogen.” That’s because estrogen plays a key role in maintaining your body temperature. “A drop in estrogen levels confuses the hypothalamus (the brain’s thermostat), making it believe the body is overheating, which triggers a rapid cooling response like blood vessel dilation,” Dr. Connor has explained. “This causes the flash or flushing of the skin and sweating to shed heat.”
In addition to needing to change your shirt once or twice throughout the day, hot flashes may also have further-reaching effects. “Hot flashes and night sweats often impact sleep, and women are unable to sleep through the night,” says Dr. West. While some people wake up sweating, others may awaken just before a hot flash occurs, per Johns Hopkins Medicine, because the changes in the brain that lead to the hot flash also wake them up. Either way, sleep can end up disrupted and less restful.
Ultimately, the severity of low estrogen symptoms like hot flashes can vary from person to person. But if you’re worried or feel like your quality of life is diminished, give your doctor a call. There are plenty of natural and medication-based strategies for treating low estrogen that can improve your day-to-day and long-term health.
Read the full article here