Produced by different glands in the body, our hormones travel via the bloodstream helping to control how our bodies function. While estrogen and testosterone probably get the most the most attention (they are sex hormones after all), we don’t want to overlook our equally important, though not quite as ‘sexy’, workaday hormones which are responsible for keeping a lot of our bodily business running smoothly, namely growth hormone, thyroid, cortisol and melatonin. Think of them as dials, which when tuned to the right frequencies, allow us to react appropriately to the demands of the moment. But just as important, they’re crucial to maintaining our vitality as we age. And I’m talking about virtually every aspect of our wellbeing – our brain and heart health, our mood, our immunity, the strength of our muscles and bones – and yes, our sexuality as well (but more on the sex hormones in my upcoming post). 

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No surprise, our hormone levels, like just about every physiological system, mostly decline with age and become less good at their respective jobs. In some cases, hormone supplementation should be on the table. But, big picture, the unifying message that I share most often with my patients and readers is that the good everyday decisions we make every day – how to eat, how to move the body, how to manage stress and so on – will have an enormous positive impact on enhancing and safeguarding hormonal function across the board. 

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What follows is my essential hormonal scorecard to help you recognize several key hormonal players, appreciate what they do for you, and what you can do for them so they do their best work for as long as possible: 

GROWTH HORMONE  

Growth hormone (GH) is, like testosterone, an “anabolic” hormone – it promotes tissue-building – made in the adrenals in both sexes. Unlike testosterone, it doesn’t discriminate against women. In fact, women’s bodies make slightly more GH than men’s, cued by the secretion of estrogen! But for both sexes, GH plays a crucial role, especially in childhood and adolescence, pumping up protein synthesis so we can grow to adult size. 

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But even after we’re all grown up, growth hormone has a valuable role to play, helping to maintain, as much as possible, a lean body composition. But by adulthood, we’re often aware of GH by its diminished presence, given that it typically declines about 1% a year after age 30. The visible results of lower-than- . But we can push back. As with men safeguarding their T, if you eat a clean diet, lay off the booze, sugar and processed foods, and do everything in your power to get a good night’s sleep night after night, you can significantly cut your GH losses. 

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Exercise matters: When it comes to supplementation, there are peptides, by injection, which can stimulate the body’s natural production of GH. But they’re not FDA-approved, and expensive to boot. For most people, the most impactful thing they can do to raise GH levels is exercise. While I’m a big fan of everyday movement to keep the body supple and the metabolism sharp, in this case, the evidence suggests that higher-intensity exercise, or HIIT, can have a more potent, direct effect, although GH does not increase muscle size the way testosterone can, mostly in younger men. 

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Sleep is the secret sauce: GH secretion peaks in deep sleep, so work on doing it well. Creating calming evening routines, dimming lights, and keeping the bedroom cool and screen free are just a few ways to help your body ease into better sleep, and check out my tips on how to do it better.

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What you can do about it: Ask your Doctor to measure your Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), which reflects overall growth hormone activity in the body, and is a reliable way to track GH levels. If levels are low, there are peptides like CJC/Ipamorelin and Tesamorelin, that stimulate your pituitary gland to release more of your own naturally produced Growth Hormone.

MELATONIN 

Probably most of my readers are familiar with the conventional melatonin story, the hormone made in the brain’s pineal gland that helps regulate our circadian rhythms, our sleep-wake cycle. That spike in cortisol in the early morning hours keeps us going throughout the day (for most of us, with a mid-afternoon lull) and then, as darkness falls, melatonin levels rise, preparing the body for sleep and recovery. 

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But what the more recent research has uncovered is that melatonin is likely more broadly synthesized inside the mitochondria, the powerplants of the cell, and that it may be involved in any number of essential physiological processes. It looks to be a potent fighter against oxidative stress (think, free radicals) and inflammation, all told pushing back against many of the so-called “hallmarks of aging.” 

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Longevity lens: Observational studies find that people with higher melatonin levels tend to age more gracefully. Because melatonin declines with age, supplementing it to restore youthful levels may become a broad anti-aging strategy, not just a sleep aid. Early research hints at benefits ranging from reduced arterial plaque to stronger immune surveillance of cancer cells, and even improved brain “clean-up” of amyloid waste linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The science is still unfolding, but the potential for protecting heart, brain, and immune health is exciting. Even small, consistent improvements in sleep quality translate into better hormonal optimization, memory, and emotional regulation—assets for longevity.

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What you can do about it: Protect your natural melatonin by dimming lights at night, getting morning sunlight, and keeping a regular sleep schedule—simple, no-cost steps that help your body’s built-in longevity systems work better. If you use screens at night, try blue-light filters or glasses. As you get older and your levels drop, I am a big proponent of taking a melatonin supplement at night

CORTISOL 

Cortisol is our primary energy hormone. Produced in the adrenals, it’s what gets our engines running in the morning when cortisol levels ramp up, triggering our cells to burn fat and glucose for energy. During the day, spikes in cortisol levels allow us to mobilize the energy we need to meet bigger or unexpected challenges, be they intellectual or physical. 

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But when levels stay high, after the challenge has passed, that’s when cortisol changes colors and becomes the hormone that drives chronic stress, breaking down body and mind in so many ways. Cortisol has a kind of push me-pull you (or yin and yang if you prefer) relationship to the androgen hormones that build us up, namely GH and testosterone. Those hormones do most of their good work at night, during the deep sleep phase. When we’re stressed out and our cortisol levels stay high through the night, not only do we get a lousy sleep but the tissue building, and maintenance activities of GH and T are blunted. 

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To make matters worse, high stress/cortisol levels promotes insulin resistance which steers the body in the direction of adding fat, just what our androgen hormones are supposed to protect against…if they weren’t handicapped by the cortisol in the first place. Worse still? Unlike the other hormones we’ve been discussing, cortisol levels tend to go up with age, which isn’t a good thing. They spike more easily and have a harder time coming down. 

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Longevity lens: Chronically elevated cortisol accelerates many hallmarks of aging—loss of muscle and bone, insulin resistance, abdominal fat, and weakened immunity. It also blunts GH and testosterone, which do their best work at night during deep sleep.

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What you can do about it: To put the brakes on stress, I urge you to build a personal stress-management toolkit: yoga, meditation, slow breathing, saunas, evening showers, hot baths, or long walks in nature. Even short “stress resets” like stepping outside for three minutes of sunlight or doing a few slow exhales can help lower cortisol quickly. Movement itself is a great stress-buster, but too much high-intensity exercise without recovery keeps cortisol sky-high. Optimization is the key. Think of it as training your nervous system to recover quickly—a trait linked to better healthspan and lower mortality risk.

THYROID

The body employs an astonishing number of systems to ensure that it’s functioning properly. Take, for example, thyroid hormone, produced in the thyroid gland, at the lower front of the neck, which serves as a kind of higher-order energy regulator, a thermostat to manage metabolism -- the rate at which calories are burned for energy – humming at just the right speed. 

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But, like all such systems, it can go awry, more often as we get older and more often in women than men. The primary driver of low thyroid (hypothyroidism) is an autoimmune condition, Hashimoto’s disease, where the body’s immune system slowly and progressively attacks the gland. The symptoms are enervating – weight gain, fatigue, dry skin and nails – and often hard to distinguish from what menopause or depression can generate. 

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Longevity lens: Low thyroid isn’t just about sluggishness or feeling under the weather; it can worsen cholesterol, raise cardiovascular risk, and contribute to cognitive fog. Catching and treating it protects your long-term energy and metabolic health.

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What you can do about it: The good news is that, unlike melatonin and cortisol, measuring thyroid levels in the blood is straightforward. Make sure you get your free T3 levels tested in addition to your free T4 and TSH, when getting a full thyroid panel. 

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For many, prescription thyroid hormone is a godsend. Others with milder issues may respond well to just a few key lifestyle upgrades and nutrient support instead of prescription meds — think B vitamins, selenium, iodine (if you’re low), and anti-inflammatory omega-3s. 

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Every case is different, but tending to your thyroid pays dividends in energy, metabolism, and cognitive clarity — critical for a long, active life. Also, be mindful of environmental disruptors (like some plastics) that can interfere with thyroid function.

THE BOTTOM LINE FOR LONGEVITY

Hormones are the body’s lifelong messengers. They don’t just control day-to-day function — they’re central to how well we age. By dialing in your daily habits—nutrient-dense food, regular movement, stress mastery, deep sleep — and, when appropriate, working with a healthcare provider on targeted therapy, you can keep these powerful messengers doing their best work for decades.

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Healthy hormones are a cornerstone of healthy aging. Protect them, and you protect your future self. Think of each small change—another serving of greens, an extra hour of sleep, a quick walk after dinner—as an investment in your “hormonal bank account.” Over time those deposits pay off in more vibrant years – exactly the kind all of us seek.