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Trouble Sleeping? Could be an Underactive Thyroid

Trouble sleeping It’s well known that an overactive thyroid can cause trouble sleeping. But low thyroid hormone function can contribute to both trouble sleeping and daytime fatigue. That combination can drain your energy, make it hard to function and think straight, and set you up other other health problems, including obesity and diabetes.

One problem with identifying the root cause of this sort of fatigue is that you can have low thyroid hormone activity in your body even when the usual blood test for thyroid function, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) is normal. One good way to find out if you do have low thyroid hormone function is to check your body temperature. If it’s consistently low (below 97.8 F. or 36.56 C.) you may have a condition called Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome. Your body may not be converting enough T4, the inactive form of thyroid hormone, to T3, the active form. Or your cells may be resistant to allowing T4 inside, where it can be converted to T3. In either case, it will cause your metabolism to slow down a bit, making your body temperature drop below the optimal temperature needed for many of the body’s biochemical reactions to occur.

That drop in temperature affects countless body functions, including energy metabolism, the production and regulation of hormones in the body, protein synthesis, immunity, and neurotransmitter production. It affects your ability to bounce back from stress, so you may end up with high cortisol levels that can interrupt sleep and cause anxiety during the day. It can throw off the natural rhythms of your body, which include drops in cortisol and a drop in body temperature to help you sleep. It can interfere with sex hormone production, making you more prone to sleep-disrupting hot flashes. It can make you more likely to have muscle stiffness and pain.

So, if you are dragging during the day, and tossing at night, check your body temperature. For complete directions on how to do this correctly, see “How are body temperatures measured” .) If it is low, you may want to try using a course of T3, active thyroid hormone, to see if this helps you feel better.

You can discuss taking a course of T3 (active thyroid hormone) with your doctor. Your doctor can call us at 800.420.5801 to get more information about how to use T3 and to discuss your individual case. The object of T3 therapy is to normalize your oral body temperatures to average 98.6 F. (37 C.) during treatment and afterwards.

Sometimes all people need is a few months of T3 treatment, or other thyroid support, to “reset” their body and get back to normal daytime energy and restful sleep.

 

REFERENCES
Goichot B1, Weibel L, Chapotot F, et.al. Effect of the shift of the sleep-wake cycle on three robust endocrine markers of the circadian clock.Am J Physiol. 1998 Aug;275(2 Pt 1):E243-8.
Kalsbeek A1, Yi CX, Cailotto C, et. al. Mammalian clock output mechanisms. Essays Biochem. 2011 Jun 30;49(1):137-51.

Luboshitzky R. Endocrine activity during sleep. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Jan;13(1):13-20.
Mazzoccoli G, Giuliani A, Carughi S, et. al. The hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and melatonin in humans: possible interactions in the control of body temperature. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004 Oct;25(5):368-72.

Steiger A. Thyroid gland and sleep. Acta Med Austriaca. 1999;26(4):132-3.

 

 

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