As well as helping to regulate mood, serotonin can impact sleep quality (the brain needs serotonin to make melatonin), memory and even bone health.

Oxytocin

Alongside other responsibilities, oxytocin also has the potential to impact your mental wellbeing. It’s also known as the ‘cuddle’ or ‘love’ hormone because it plays a vital role in the childbirth process and facilitates mother-baby bonding. Outside of this, oxytocin also helps to foster feelings of connection, trust and community. While it’s most commonly trigger is physical touch, you can boost your oxytocin levels in lots of ways, including self-massage, practising gratitude or joining a choir – anything that makes you feel warm inside.

Dopamine

Dopamine is most commonly known as the hormone triggered by technology use, but it’s a lot more complex than that. At its core, dopamine is designed to produce feelings of pleasure, satisfaction and motivation: it’s part of the body’s reward system. This means that from an evolutionary standpoint, it’s designed to make us do the things we need to do to survive – eat, drink, reproduce etc. Those activities release dopamine, and dopamine makes us feel good, so we’re more likely to do those things on a regular basis.

But other less beneficial activities like social media use and eating sugary foods can also trigger dopamine, so it’s not all good. And too much dopamine can lead to impulse control and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, which is why it’s important to strike a balance.

Insulin

Insulin is an essential hormone: the body needs it to survive. Its core role is helping glucose in the blood to enter cells, where it’s used as energy. A lack of insulin – which occurs in people with type 1 diabetes – can cause blood sugar levels to spike, while too much insulin can cause blood sugar levels to plummet. It’s for this reason why having a responsive insulin system is so important.

Insulin’s ability to function is also affected by someone’s insulin sensitivity – ie how sensitive the body is to the effects of insulin. In people who are insulin resistant (a risk factor for type 2 diabetes), insulin no longer has the same effect, leading to spikes in blood sugar which can cause health issues further down the line.

Everything you need to know about taking care of your hormones (a no-BS guide)