What Sleep Deprivation can do to your Hormones

There are several critical hormones affected by the regularity (or lack thereof) of your sleeping schedule. Evidence from the National Institute of Health has shown that sleep deprivation affects the body’s production of cortisol, growth hormone (GH), leptin and ghrelin1. These hormones regulate stress levels in the body, as well as appetite. Additionally, regulated hormone production also affects the ability of the body to make efficient use of glucose, which is used by the body’s cells to induce activity. If your cells are prevented from recognizing and making use of available glucose, then your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease increases. Evidence exists to suggest that people who average only five to six hours of sleep per night double their risk of developing diabetes2.

Another detrimental effect of inconsistent glucose production is that you end up feeling more tired and hungry, as the glucose in your body is not being properly utilized to spur activity. You feel hungry and end up eating more, which can lead to weight gain and other health problems.
Compounding the detrimental hormonal effects of sleep deprivation is the decrease in leptin and increase in ghrelin, both associated with lack of sleep3. Leptin is a hormone that moderates your appetite and is produced largely at night. The hormone ghrelin increases your appetite. Studies have shown that spikes in ghrelin production can cause people to crave foods that are high in carbohydrates and sugars.

The net hormonal effects of sleep loss result in the subsequent craving of glucose-rich foods, all while the body is unable to adequately process the glucose. This combination can be devastating to your long-term health and short-term sense of wellbeing.

Sleep deprivation can also compromise cortisol production. Cortisol is a hormone that is useful in moderation, but sporatic spikes and drops in production can be harmful to your health. For individuals who don’t get regular and adequate amounts of sleep, cortisol levels elevate at night and decrease six times slower compared to individuals with a healthy sleep schedule. Elevated levels of cortisol are yet another contributing factor to diabetes that’s directly correlated to a poor sleep schedule.

Growth Hormone (GH) which repairs cells and causes cell reproduction is also suppressed by sleep loss4. Studies have shown that this relationship is particularly prevalent in men but is present in women as well5. Men who fail to attain sufficient sleep also suffer from lagging testosterone production, which can suppress the libido. 

If you’re in need of solutions for a better night’s sleep, then please contact Dr. Gary Core’s office in North Phoenix. Dr. Core was diagnosed with sleep apnea nearly 8 years ago and has since garnered world-class expertise on the subject. He is a diplomat of the American Sleep and Breathing Academy and has crafted over 700 custom appliances to help his patients get a better night’s sleep.


1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3065172/
2http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/how-sleep-deprivation-fries-your-hormones-your-immune-system-and-your-brain
3See note 2
4https://www.sleepio.com/articles/sleep-science/hormones-and-sleep-a-two-way-street/
5See note 1

5 Compelling Reasons to Get More Z's

From a boost in short-term alertness and clarity, to the procurement of long-term mental and physical health, getting adequate sleep will dramatically improve your quality of life. Here are five compelling reasons to make sleep a priority.

1) More Z’s at Night Make For Easier, More Productive And Fun Days
In addition to not feeling tired all day, it’s easier to enjoy your day when you’re able to stay focused on what you’re doing. A good night’s sleep improves several aspects of cognitive function. A National Institute of Health study1 shows that a good night’s sleep leads to better focus and superior overall performance. On the flip-side, a lack of sleep is associated with poor cognitive function.

2) Maintain A Healthy Weight When You’re Getting Adequate Sleep
Sleep loss throws a multitude of your hormones into upheaval. While your levels of leptin, a hormone that moderates your appetite, go down, your levels of ghrelin, a hormone that makes you hungrier, go up. The under-slept individual feels more starved for calories even though he or she really isn’t. The result is unhealthy weight gain.

3) More Sleep Means a Stronger Immune System
When you aren’t sleeping long enough, your body is more likely interpret insufficient sleep as an environmental stressor and can go into emergency mode. Your cortisone levels increase and your body, in its physiological panic-state, begins to reserve available glucose, diminishing the strength of the immune system to fight off infection. A University of Chicago study found that men who were under-slept produced far fewer antibodies following a flu shot3. Keep your body prepared to fight off illness with a stable, steady sleep schedule.

4) Good Sleep Enhances Memory and Learning
The way we learn and memorize is greatly affected by the quality of our sleep. There’s a process known as “consolidation,” which occurs during slow wave sleep and involves the practicing and rehashing of lessons learned during the day. This process also involves the critical “unlearning” of superfluous activity. To illustrate this unlearning, an article in Psychology Today4 uses the example of a child learning how to ride a bike. What’s important to remember or learn, for the child, is how to stay in control while riding. During REM sleep, non-useful experiential learning, such as how to fall off the bike, is effectively unlearned while useful learning, such how to ride with stability is reinforced.

5) Sleep Optimizes Specialized Skills, Athletic, Intellectual etc.
A study in 20115 showed that basketball players who got healthy amounts of sleep had better reaction times, accuracy and speed. Another study followed football players and concluded that the players who got better sleep had more energy and were faster6. It was also included in the journal, Sleep, that sleep disturbances made it difficult for children to learn and that college students, on average, got better grades when they were weren’t sleep deprived7.

Take Action

If you’re looking for a better night’s sleep, along with all the ensuing benefits, then take the time today to set up an appointment with Dr. Gary Core, DDS. Dr. Core’s office is located in North Phoenix, close to the border of Peoria and Glendale. Call (602) 866-1429.


1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15824327
2http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15509817
3http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/sleep/10-reasons-why-you-need-more-sleep/6/
4https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleeping-angels/200905/11-reasons-why-good-nights-sleep-is-so-important
5http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21731144
6http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221_6,00.html
7http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20459221_7,00.html

Oral Appliances vs CPAP for Treating Sleep Apnea (what are the differences and what works for whom and why?)

Better sleep means a better quality of life. For the estimated 22 million Americans who suffer from sleep apnea and other sleep disorders, finding a viable solution is critical. The CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) face mask has long been considered the gold standard treatment for patients with sleep apnea seeking a better night’s sleep. Unfortunately, however, the imposing physiological demands of the device have led many patients to seek other solutions, such as specialized oral appliances.

The CPAP device exerts extra air pressure against your throat while you sleep, thereby making it impossible for your airway to collapse when you breath in. The device is effective at remedying snoring and preventing the patient from waking up over and over again throughout the night. Studies have shown that the regular use of the CPAP device decreases day time drowsiness1.

However, one of the most significant drawbacks of CPAP therapy is that it’s difficult for many patients to grow accustomed to. Any imperfection in the fit can cause the device to leak air. Using the device effectively also requires that the patient sleep on his or her back, which is not ideal for everyone. Two years following the initial use of the CPAP, over 80% of patients stop using the device voluntarily or discover that it’s physically impossible for them to wear the device properly while sleeping. 

Sleep apnea patients who can’t or choose not to wear the CPAP device turn to sleep appliances such as the Herbst Oral Appliance and the TAP (Thornton Adjustable Positioner). Oral devices bring the jaw forward and move the tongue to facilitate a continuous open airway. For many patients, these devices offer a comfortable and competent solution to sleep apnea. Since Medicare views sleep apnea as a medical, rather than a dental problem, it is willing to procure and replace either the Herbst or TAP oral appliances every five years. The standard private insurer will replace these devices every (3-5) years.

To create a fitting oral appliance for a patient, the first step is the taking of impressions of the upper and lower jaws. These impressions are sent to a certified Oral Appliance lab and custom appliances are created in 7-10 days. At home, patients gradually adjust the devices until they find the perfect calibration, whereby deep sleep is possible and airflow is unrestricted.

At Core Sleep Solutions, we’d love to help you discover your ideal sleep apnea solution. We encourage you to make an appointment with North Phoenix dentist Dr. Core. With the help of our qualified and caring staff, Core Sleep Solutions has helped untold numbers of patients change their lives for the better.  Call us today at: (602)866-1429.

1 http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-apnea/continuous-positive-airway-pressure-cpap-for-obstructive-sleep-apnea#slapnref-16

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