Stress management, regular exercise, quality sleep, and a balanced diet are cornerstones of maintaining hormonal balance.
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Key takeaways:
Stress management, regular exercise, quality sleep, and a balanced diet are cornerstones of maintaining hormonal balance.
Your hormones — including testosterone, insulin, cortisol, and more — affect energy, mood, fertility, metabolism, and sexual function.
When lifestyle measures aren’t enough and for persistent issues, your healthcare provider may prescribe treatments like testosterone replacement therapy, SERMs, thyroid medication, or cortisol-lowering drugs.
Hormones influence many bodily functions, and as a result, the chemical messengers can impact the way we feel. Because of this, maintaining hormonal balance is important. Luckily, certain lifestyle tweaks can help with maintaining this balance: Lowering your stress levels, exercising more, and sleeping better are some strategies that may help stabilize hormones such as testosterone, insulin, and more. Medicinal interventions may also be appropriate for some folks aiming to achieve hormone balance.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to know if your hormones are balanced, certain causes of hormonal imbalances, and healthy lifestyle changes you can make to restore that hormonal equilibrium.
Hormones are chemical messengers that help coordinate various bodily functions, including:
The body’s stable functioning (homeostasis)
Metabolism
Reproductive health
Sexual function
Growth and development
Sleep
Mood
When your hormones aren’t balanced — whether due to aging, a medical condition, lifestyle choices, or otherwise — you may feel fatigued, depressed, unmotivated, or generally unwell. Hormonal imbalances can also have long-term implications on your health, which we’ll share later in this article.
The most reliable way to know if your hormones are balanced is to consult a healthcare professional and get tested for certain conditions related to your symptoms. Numerous saliva, urine, and blood tests can help check for specific hormonal issues like low testosterone, hypothyroidism, adrenal disorders, diabetes, and more.
Your healthcare provider may also want to perform a physical exam or assess symptoms indicating a hormonal imbalance. Because your body makes over 50 hormones, symptoms may vary according to what kind of hormonal balance you have.
Your body produces a bunch of hormones, and balancing them is important for functioning well.
Lifestyle changes — like lowering stress, exercising more, eating whole foods, and sleeping better — can make a big difference when it comes to hormonal balance. And if healthy habits aren’t enough, medical treatments are available to help get you back on track.
Signs and symptoms of sex hormone (androgen) imbalances in men include:
Low sex drive
Erectile dysfunction (ED)
Decreased muscle mass
Increased body fat
Weakness
Fatigue
Brain fog
Less body hair
Infertility
Signs and symptoms of an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) include:
Fatigue
Feeling cold all the time
Forgetfulness
Depression
Constipation
Signs and symptoms of an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) include:
Fast or irregular heart rate
Excessive sweating
Anxiety or irritability
Weight loss
Hand tremors
Insomnia
Changes in energy levels
Pain behind the eyes or bulging eyes
Signs and symptoms of an adrenal hormone imbalance include:
Chronic fatigue
Loss of appetite
Weight loss
Muscle weakness
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Low blood pressure
Irritability or depression
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
Symptoms of insulin resistance, prediabetes, and diabetes include:
Increased thirst and hunger
Stress can be helpful in certain situations by engaging your biological fight-or-flight response, which temporarily boosts hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. But chronic stress can mess with your thyroid, insulin, and reproductive hormones. This, in turn, can lead to imbalances that may affect metabolism and fertility, or exacerbate symptoms associated with conditions like Graves’ disease or diabetes.
Lowering your stress levels can be an effective strategy for achieving hormone balance (and overall health).
Here are some stress-reduction strategies to try:
Meditate, even if you only have five free minutes
Prioritize your relaxation
Notice signs of burnout
Invest in creative pursuits
Talk to a therapist about your stress triggers
Studies show that regular exercise doesn’t just spike hormones — movement actually makes your tissues more sensitive to the chemical messengers.
For instance, exercise helps your muscles use glucose more efficiently, reducing the need for high insulin and cortisol levels. Your stress response also adapts, requiring less cortisol to meet physical demands. Growth hormones work more efficiently to repair tissues and support body composition. Over time, that greater sensitivity means you need less hormone secretion to get the same effect, which helps stabilize thyroid and sex-hormone signaling. Just bear in mind that rest days are important, because physical overexertion can also lead to hormonal imbalance.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults ages 18 to 64 should:
Spend at least 150 minutes a week on moderate-intensity activity, such as power walking
Do muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week
Some exercises shown to support hormone health:
If confirmed testing shows low testosterone and lifestyle changes don’t improve symptoms, your healthcare provider may prescribe medication to increase your testosterone levels.
Medication for low testosterone includes:
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). Available in various formulations, including gels, injections, patches, or pellets, TRT helps to increase testosterone and improve low T symptoms like low sex drive, brain fog, and muscle weakness. However, long-term use can suppress natural testosterone production and lower sperm count.
Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). Medications like clomiphene and enclomiphene stimulate the body’s own testosterone production without compromising fertility. While clomiphene is FDA-approved for treating infertility in women, its use in men with low testosterone is off-label. Enclomiphene is not currently FDA-approved but has been studied as a potential treatment for secondary hypogonadism. Both should be used only under medical supervision.
Medication for erectile dysfunction. Medications like sildenafil and tadalafil won’t increase testosterone, but they can help with symptoms like ED. These medications enhance blood flow to the penis, making it easier to achieve and sustain erections.
Your doctor may prescribe thyroid medication to either replace the function of an underactive or surgically removed thyroid gland or to prevent further growth of thyroid tissue.
Popular thyroid replacement medications include levothyroxine (which provides synthetic T4 hormone) and liothyronine (a synthetic form of T3). Providers may also prescribe patients desiccated thyroid extract, which contains a mix of T4 and T3 derived from animal sources. The course of medication depends on your thyroid condition, hormone levels, and how your body responds to treatment.
Treatment for high cortisol (hypercortisolism) focuses on lowering cortisol, treating the underlying cause, and managing complications.
If high cortisol results from long-term glucocorticoid use, your provider may taper doses carefully to avoid adrenal insufficiency. When a pituitary or adrenal tumor is the underlying cause, surgery may be the first choice, sometimes followed by radiation. If surgery isn’t possible or effective, medications like ketoconazole, mitotane, metyrapone, and mifepristone, or newer medications (such as osilodrostat) can block cortisol production or action.
Your primary care provider or other healthcare professional can order testing to assess specific hormone levels. Depending on the hormone in question, symptoms vary. Because hormone levels fluctuate and overlap in symptoms, accurate diagnosis requires professional interpretation of both lab and clinical findings.
In many cases, yes. Stress reduction, exercise, good sleep, and a healthy diet can improve hormone sensitivity and balance, especially for testosterone, insulin, and cortisol.
Yes. Heavy drinking damages testosterone-producing cells, raises estrogen, and can lead to fertility issues. Cutting back or quitting often helps restore balance.
Some supplements may help correct nutrient deficiencies or support hormone-related functions by filling nutritional gaps, like zinc for testosterone, ashwagandha for stress and cortisol, or selenium for thyroid. However, evidence for most “hormone-balancing” supplements remains limited. Supplements aren’t a cure and should complement a healthy lifestyle.
If lifestyle changes don’t cut it or lab results show a significant hormone imbalance, your doctor may recommend medication such as TRT, SERMs, thyroid medication, or cortisol-lowering drugs.
Excessive urination
Increased blood sugar levels
Weight loss or weight gain
Fatigue
Blurred vision
Slow wound healing
Numbness or tingling in hands or feet
Frequent infections
Your endocrine system controls hormone production throughout the body. But when parts of this system aren’t working as they should, hormone levels can shift, creating imbalances that affect everything from energy levels to sleep and sexual health.
While some hormone fluctuations are normal, like during puberty, other changes can result from medical conditions, medications, or lifestyle habits. Because hormonal imbalance can describe many unrelated conditions, only a qualified healthcare provider can determine whether your hormone levels truly require medical treatment.
Some potential causes of hormone imbalances include:
Tumors and adenomas. According to the American Cancer Society, certain pituitary tumors and benign growths (adenomas) can cause the pituitary gland to secrete low levels of one or more hormones. This can lead to low levels of cortisol, sex hormones, or thyroid hormone. Some tumors can also cause excess hormone production, like pituitary adenomas that lead to high cortisol levels, which may lead to Cushing’s syndrome.
Certain drugs and medications. Some drugs and medications can cause hormonal imbalances in men. For instance, opioids have been linked to androgen deficiency. Abuse of anabolic steroids can also cause androgen deficiency, even after usage stops. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are also known to have endocrine side effects, which can affect fertility, sexual function, and thyroid function. And cancer treatments like radiation therapy may pose long-term endocrine and metabolic consequences.
Trauma to the endocrine glands. Trauma or injury to endocrine glands can lead to hormonal changes and imbalances, such as traumatic brain injuries, neck injuries, pancreatic damage, and testicular trauma.
Autoimmune conditions. Autoimmune disorders can disrupt hormones in different ways—Hashimoto’s disease and Graves’ disease affect thyroid function, Addison’s disease impairs adrenal hormones, and multiple sclerosis is linked to low testosterone.
Obesity. Excess body fat acts as an active endocrine organ. Body fat can raise leptin, lower adiponectin and growth hormone, and alter sex hormones. This, in turn, can lead to issues like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women, low testosterone, and insulin resistance.
Beyond these medical causes, lifestyle habits within your control — like poor diet and lack of exercise — also play a big role in hormone health.
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High-intensity interval training, which increases insulin sensitivity
Resistance training, particularly barbell squats, which may increase growth hormone, cortisol, and insulin-like growth factor to stimulate muscle growth and tissue regeneration
Aerobic exercise, which can reduce fat and improve cardiorespiratory fitness, and may be particularly beneficial for men with testosterone deficiency and erectile dysfunction (more so than strengthening exercises)
What you eat can impact your hormonal functioning. The Mediterranean diet — which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish, and olive oil, and low in processed foods — is one of the most beneficial diets for male hormonal balance. This diet is associated with higher testosterone levels, improved insulin resistance, reduced inflammation, and better reproductive health outcomes in men.
Mediterranean diet aside, here are some strategies to help you revamp your diet with hormone balance in mind:
Focus on eating whole foods, and limit your intake of processed ingredients
Aim to eat healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fatty fish
Prioritize daily protein for hormonal health, as protein keeps insulin steady, supports testosterone, and balances hunger hormones
You can also check out these weight loss diet plans if you’re aiming to lose weight.
Adequate sleep helps synchronize sex hormone secretion with the body's circadian rhythms, which supports fertility and reproductive health.
Deep sleep (especially slow-wave sleep) stimulates the release of growth hormone, which is essential for development, tissue repair, and metabolism.
Also, when you don’t get enough sleep, your cortisol levels can skyrocket. Chronic elevation of your cortisol can suppress reproductive hormones and disrupt metabolic processes.
Some strategies that can help you sleep better include:
Wake up at the same time every day and go to bed at the same time
Limit exposure to caffeine, alcohol, and blue light from screens before bed
Don’t schedule your workouts too close to bedtime
Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room
For more tips to get A+ shut-eye, check out these healthy sleep hygiene tips.
A healthy, well-rounded diet provides most of the vitamins and minerals your body needs for maintaining hormonal balance. However, if your diet is limited or you have vitamin deficiencies, supplementation can help close gaps.
Supplements aren’t a “cure” for hormone imbalance, but you may consider them as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Some supplements to consider taking to help maintain hormone balance:
For testosterone: Some research suggests zinc supplements may improve testosterone levels if you’re deficient. Ashwagandha is also associated with higher testosterone and has been shown to increase muscle mass and strength compared to a placebo. One very small study concluded that DHEA supplementation in middle-aged men increased free testosterone levels during exercise recovery.
For insulin: Though some research shows that vitamin C supplementation may improve insulin resistance, more large-scale studies are needed.
For cortisol: Research also links vitamin C supplementation to lower cortisol levels in patients with elevated levels of the stress hormone. And taking ashwagandha may be an effective strategy to lower cortisol levels and improve sleep.
For thyroid health: Research on dietary supplements for thyroid health suggests that iodine, selenium, myo-inositol, vitamin A, and vitamin B12 can all help prevent thyroid disorders.
Keep in mind that supplements can interact with prescription medications, alter lab results, or make certain health conditions worse if taken inappropriately. Always discuss new supplements with your healthcare provider. Supplements should complement, not replace, evidence-based medical care.
If you drink, try not to overdo it. Studies show that chronic alcohol consumption can cause a variety of hormonal imbalances that affect the entire body, resulting in disorders like stress abnormalities, reproductive issues, thyroid problems, immune dysfunction, bone disease, cancers, and psychological disorders.
Other research concludes that heavy alcohol consumption can lower testosterone in men by damaging the Leydig cells in the testes (where testosterone is made).
At the same time, alcohol increases aromatase activity and impairs liver breakdown of estrogens, tipping the balance toward higher estrogen levels. This shift can cause gynecomastia and reduced fertility.
Beyond the testes, alcohol also disrupts the brain-pituitary axis. Acute drinking lowers testosterone and raises prolactin, while chronic intake suppresses GnRH and LH signaling, further stunting testosterone production. The overall effect is a dose-dependent decline in testosterone and sperm health, most noticeable in heavy drinkers, though often reversible with abstinence.
Here are some simple strategies to start cutting back on drinking:
Only drink on specific days on specific occasions
Track your drinks with an app
Try to set a streak of alcohol-free days
Match every drink with water (which is also a great way to stay hydrated!)
Opt for a smaller glass or a lower-ABV option
Eat before (and while) drinking
If you struggle with substance abuse, seek the help of a professional. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers resources to help.
Alongside treating the root cause, treatment for high cortisol often includes addressing complications like high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, osteoporosis, and clotting risks.