15 Interesting Facts about Human Hormones

Administering testosterone to patients with a social anxiety disorder has been found to increase their willingness to face situations which are perceived as socially threatening.

2. Oxytocin (the 'love hormone') causes men in relationships to stand further away from attractive women than single men.

3. Inhaled insulin exists for type 1 and 2 diabetes. It is faster acting, with less weight gain and less chance of hypoglycemia because it emulates what the pancreas does.

4. Due to a decrease in progesterone and estrogen, women who work out on their period are more likely to feel fatigued while exercising but have the greatest potential for muscular growth during menstruation.

5. 95% of the serotonin in the human body is located in the gut. Serotonin deficiency in men causes impulsive, violent behavior and alcohol abuse.

Levels of a stress hormone called cortisol — the same ancient chemical that instructs men to fight or flight — tend to spike about 4 to 6 weeks after men learn that they are going to be fathers.

7. Melatonin levels secreted in breast milk vary depending on the time of day, helping a baby know when to sleep/wake up and thus regulate its sleep cycle. Babies who are fed formula have a harder time regulating their sleep cycle and are more prone to colic.

8. Ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone - is increased in both anorexics and obese people.

9. Higher levels of estradiol are linked to increased attractiveness, femininity and fertility in women.

10. The word "Adrenalin" - which would become genericized as "adrenaline" - is actually a trademarked name for the hormone "epinephrine."

There is a hormone called "Relaxin" that Relaxes pelvic ligaments to help with pregnancy.

12. Melatonin has undergone clinical trials as a female contraceptive. At high doses, it effectively prevented pregnancy, with drowsiness as the only documented side effect.

13. The hormone Oxytocin, known as the 'Love Hormone', can promote prejudice, xenophobia, and intergroup violence.

14. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) extracted from cadavers causes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rapidly degenerative neurological disorder, which is why HGH is now created using recombinant DNA.

15. The hormones released when breastfeeding helps shrink the uterus back to its pre-pregnancy size faster.