5 Signs Your Hormones Are Out of Balance (and What to Do)

Hormones are the body's messengers, influencing everything from your metabolism to your mood. When they're in sync, you feel energetic, mentally sharp, emotionally stable, and physically strong. But when even one hormone is out of whack, the ripple effect can be profound—and frustrating.

Dr. Lawrence Kessler, founder of Restoration Health 365 and author of Optimology: The Future of Medicine, sees this daily in his practice. Patients show up feeling “off,” and standard labs or conventional doctors tell them they're “fine.” But subtle hormonal imbalances often lie at the root.

Here are five major signs your hormones may be out of balance—and what to do about it.

1. You’re Constantly Tired (Even After a Full Night’s Sleep)

If you're waking up groggy, needing caffeine to function, or crashing mid-afternoon, it’s more than just “life being busy.” Fatigue is one of the top signs of hormone dysfunction—especially with:

• Low cortisol (from adrenal dysfunction)

• Low thyroid hormones (T3 and T4)

• Low testosterone or estrogen

• Low DHEA, a precursor hormone for energy and immune function

  
  

When these hormones dip, your cells don’t produce or use energy efficiently. You feel it in your bones.

What to do: Functional lab testing can reveal hormonal imbalances long before they show up on conventional bloodwork. A personalized bioidentical hormone plan, along with adrenal support and targeted nutrition, can help restore your natural energy levels.

2. You Can’t Lose Weight—Even Though You’re Doing Everything “Right”

If you're counting calories, exercising, and still gaining weight (especially around the midsection), hormones may be working against you.

• Elevated cortisol promotes fat storage

• Low thyroid slows your metabolism

• Insulin resistance leads to fat gain, particularly around the belly

• Estrogen/progesterone imbalances can shift fat distribution and water retention

• Low testosterone contributes to muscle loss and stubborn fat

  
  

Weight loss resistance is rarely a willpower issue. It’s often biochemical.

What to do: Rather than chasing fad diets, Optimology focuses on lab-driven nutrition and hormone optimization to rebalance metabolism. When hormones are corrected, the body becomes responsive again.

3. Your Mood and Mental Clarity Are Unpredictable

Brain fog, anxiety, irritability, and depression aren’t always psychological—they're often hormonal. Neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine rely on hormonal input.

Common culprits:

• Low estrogen or progesterone (especially in women during perimenopause)

• Low testosterone (in both men and women)

• Dysregulated cortisol (too high or too low)

• Thyroid dysfunction

  
  

You may feel detached, overwhelmed, or unable to focus, even when life is relatively stable. And that feeling doesn’t go away with self-help books or meditation apps.

What to do: Dr. Kessler’s approach includes assessing sex hormones, thyroid levels, and adrenal health—all of which impact mood and cognition. Often, rebalancing even one hormone (like progesterone in women) dramatically improves emotional wellbeing and mental clarity.

4. Your Sleep Is a Mess

If you’re tossing and turning, waking up at 2 AM, or feeling wired but tired at bedtime, hormones are likely at play.

• Low melatonin impacts your ability to fall asleep

• High cortisol at night makes it hard to wind down

• Low progesterone reduces GABA, your calming neurotransmitter

• Thyroid or estrogen imbalances can cause night sweats and restless sleep

  
  

Sleep is where your body resets and repairs. When hormones interfere, everything else in your health suffers.

What to do: Instead of masking poor sleep with sedatives or supplements, Optimology targets the root cause—whether that’s adrenal overactivation, progesterone deficiency, or circadian disruption. Melatonin supplementation, BHRT, and stress-adapted recovery tools like HRV monitoring are often used.

5. Your Libido (and Sexual Function) Has Flatlined

Low libido isn’t just about aging or relationship stress. It’s often hormonal.

• Low testosterone (in men and women) decreases desire and performance

• Low estrogen can cause vaginal dryness and discomfort during sex

• Low DHEA affects drive and sensitivity

• Elevated cortisol blunts sex hormone production

  
  

Hormones regulate not just physical readiness but emotional desire. When they’re off, intimacy suffers.

What to do: Bioidentical hormone therapy can restore sexual function and drive in a way that feels natural—not forced. Patients often report not only improved function but also confidence and vitality returning within weeks of optimized care.

What Makes Hormonal Imbalances Hard to Detect?

The frustrating truth is this: You can feel awful and still test “normal.”

That’s because most conventional labs use reference ranges based on population averages—not optimal health. You might have a testosterone level that’s technically in-range but still low enough to cause fatigue, weight gain, and mood shifts.

At Restoration Health 365, Dr. Kessler uses functional lab ranges and symptom-based interpretation to find what standard care misses. He also works with compounding pharmacies to tailor BHRT specifically to each patient—no one-size-fits-all prescriptions.

Optimology: A Smarter Way to Rebalance

In Optimology: The Future of Medicine, Dr. Kessler outlines how bioidentical hormone therapy (BHRT), advanced diagnostics, precision nutrition, and lifestyle optimization can be used to restore balance—and performance—at any age.

Instead of just managing symptoms with medications, this approach treats the root hormonal patterns and creates a sustainable, optimized physiology.

Final Thoughts: You’re Not Crazy. You’re Probably Just Out of Balance.

If you're feeling off—physically, mentally, or emotionally—but your doctor keeps saying you're "fine," it’s time to look deeper. Hormones affect nearly every system in the body, and small imbalances can create massive disruptions.

The good news? You can fix it. Hormonal balance is not a pipe dream—it’s measurable, manageable, and life-changing when done right.

Ready to find out if your hormones are holding you back?

Restoration Health 365 offers advanced hormone testing and individualized BHRT to help you feel like yourself again. Book a consultation today and start building a treatment plan around your biochemistry.