As we sleep, our hormones rage on

All those changes that happen in your body as you go through puberty are brought upon by hormones, something that anyone who has suffered through as many hours of sex-ed videos from the ’80s as I did, should be more than well aware of.

What’s interesting is, according to a new article in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, most of these changes occur while we sleep.

Luteinizing hormone, one of the many hormones involved in puberty, is responsible for regulating the ovulation in females and producing testosterone in the testes of men. It is released from the brain in pulses as we sleep.

By observing the pulses in the brains of nine to fifteen year olds, researchers were able to find that the pulses were far greater in frequency and the amount of hormone released in the later stages of deep sleep.

This comes as a serious concern for children suffering from sleep disorders like insomnia, or those who choose to neglect a good night’s sleep in favour of the comforting glow of a video game filled monitor.