Unlocking the Power of Sleep: A Deep Dive into Growth Hormones

We can all agree that sleep is very important even though I haven't had a good sleep in the last 24 hours and i guess I should go take a nap now. Anyways, I will do that immediately I am done with this post, but then we cannot underestimate the importance of sleep and it is no news that mild sleep deprivation over a few days can affect our physical and cognitive performance and our overall health.

We cannot deny the fact that the more physically active we are during the day, the more sleep we would need to recover our lost energy and rest our brain. When people have proper sleep, there is a spike in the hormone named human growth hormone (HGH). So, I will be discussing sleep and the growth hormone in full in this post, and I will like you to follow me all through the way.

Image Credit

To understand every thing about growth hormone, we need to know where it is coming from, and impressively, it is coming from the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain. This growth hormone is secreted into the bloodstream, and the bloodstream circulates it throughout the body. The growth hormone promotes the growth of almost every body part and tissues, including bones and I guess that is why it has the name growth hormone since it is just living up to its name. The hormone is essential for normal growth in childhood and adolescence affecting cartilages and bone growth.

If there is a deficiency in the production of this hormone, it would inhibit the growth of skeleton and cartilages and with excess amount of this hormone in childhood and adolescence, one can suffer from gigantism. In adults, this growth hormone stimulate tissue repair and maintenance.

When we talk about tissue maintenance and repair, we talk about proteins, and we know that proteins are the building blocks of tissues, providing them with structure. These tissues range from connective tissues, tendons, ligaments, and muscle tissues. So growth hormones enhances the transportation of the building blocks of proteins which are amino acids into the cells. The hormone also turns on genes that causes proteins to be synthesized and new proteins are added to tissues, helping them to improve growth of cells in the tissues including enhancing fat utilization increasing the amount of fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream so it can be burned as energy.

Image Credit

Although some people still feel fatigued after what they refer to as a proper night sleep, some wake up with sore throat, and some people have irregular breath even when they sleep. Growth hormone is released in pulses and it increases and decreases throughout the day. There are a few things that stimulate the release of growth hormone in increased proportion, and these things include low blood glucose, low concentration of fatty acids in the blood, fasting, starvation, exercise, trauma, stress, and during the first 2 hours of deep sleep.

When the hypothalamus receive signals of the body experiencing starvation, fasting, trauma, and emotional stressors, the triggers the pituitary gland to release growth hormones in respond to the conditions. One question to ask yourself is the possibility of sleeping and getting a diminished growth hormone being released. Not sleeping at the right time based on the circadian rhythm which is controlled by the hypothalamus or not having enough sleep can lead to a diminishing release of growth hormone.

Sleep, the silent maestro orchestrating a symphony of growth hormones, takes center stage in our journey. As we unravel the intricate dance between the circadian rhythm and the release of growth hormones, one thing becomes crystal clear – the value of quality sleep extends far beyond mere rest. It's the conductor guiding the body's growth and maintenance, a nocturnal companion we must cherish for a healthier, more vibrant life. Sweet dreams and goodnight!

---

---

REFERENCE

---

---

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC297368/
https://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/growth-hormone/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188300/
https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/4/870
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/growth-hormone
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279056/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7245490/