Did you know protein is essential for hormonal function? Doctor shares 5 daily habits that influence endocrine health

Your daily habits affect your health more than you realise. Dr Sood shares 5 practices that influence hormonal health.

Hormonal health is closely tied to the choices you make every day. From when you wake up and what you eat to how well you sleep, move, and manage stress, daily habits can influence the hormones that regulate some of the body’s most essential functions. Since hormones help control everything from metabolism and energy levels to mood, appetite, and sleep, small everyday behaviours can have a ripple effect on overall health. Over time, these choices play a powerful role in shaping how well your body functions and how you feel, both physically and mentally.

Lack of protein can impair hormone function. (Unsplash)

Dr Kunal Sood, an anaesthesiologist and interventional pain medicine physician, is highlighting everyday habits that can have a significant impact on hormonal health. In an Instagram video shared on May 21, the anaesthesiologist and interventional pain medicine physician explains how these daily behaviours help regulate hormones – and, in turn, influence several essential body functions, from sleep and metabolism to energy levels and overall wellbeing.

Morning sunlight helps regulate cortisol rhythms

According to Dr Sood, getting sunlight in the morning helps reset the body’s circadian rhythm – your internal clock that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. He explains that early sunlight exposure helps coordinate key hormones such as melatonin and cortisol, which influence when you feel alert and when you feel sleepy.

The physician notes, “Morning light acts as a timing signal for the brain’s circadian clock, helping coordinate cortisol and melatonin rhythms. Early-day sunlight helps anchor the cortisol awakening response and supports healthier sleep-wake timing.”

Protein supports hormone-related functions

Dr Sood explains that protein provides essential amino acids the body needs to build enzymes, receptors, and molecules involved in transport and metabolic signalling – all of which play a key role in hormone function. He notes that inadequate protein intake can disrupt hormonal pathways linked to recovery, muscle maintenance, metabolism, and appetite regulation.

He highlights, “Protein provides amino acids needed for enzymes, receptors, transport proteins, and metabolic signaling molecules. Low protein intake may impair recovery, lean mass maintenance, metabolic resilience, and appetite-regulating hormone pathways.”

Sleep is a major hormonal reset period

Sleep plays a vital role in regulating several key hormones, including growth hormone, melatonin, cortisol, insulin, and reproductive hormones. When sleep is poor or inadequate, these hormonal processes can become disrupted, which may affect everything from recovery and metabolism to energy levels, mood, and overall health.

Dr Sood explains, “Sleep helps regulate growth hormone, melatonin, cortisol, insulin pathways, and reproductive hormones. Poor or inconsistent sleep has been linked with altered cortisol rhythms, impaired glucose metabolism, appetite hormone disruption, and reduced insulin sensitivity.”

Strength training supports insulin sensitivity

The physician explains that skeletal muscle is one of the body’s primary sites for glucose disposal, and this function is strengthened through resistance and strength training. Regular strength exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity, preserve lean muscle mass, and support overall metabolic as well as hormonal health.

He notes, “Skeletal muscle is one of the body’s largest sites for glucose disposal. Resistance training improves insulin sensitivity, glucose uptake, metabolic flexibility, and preservation of lean mass, all of which support endocrine and metabolic health over time.”

Chronic stress can disrupt multiple hormones

Dr Sood highlights that chronic stress can keep cortisol levels elevated at times when they should naturally be lower, disrupting the body’s hormonal balance. He notes that this can interfere with sleep, appetite regulation, insulin function, and reproductive hormones. When combined with poor sleep, it can create a vicious cycle – where stress worsens hormonal disruption, and hormonal imbalance in turn makes stress and sleep harder to manage.

He explains, “Long-term activation of the HPA axis can keep cortisol elevated at the wrong times of day, interfering with sleep, appetite regulation, insulin signaling, and reproductive hormone balance. Poor sleep and stress can then reinforce each other in a cycle of hormonal disruption.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.