← Spibio

Learning pages

Hormones

30 pages · 13 families

Spibio publishes one page per hormone: what it does in the body, the cascade that triggers it, what boosts it and what slows it down. The thirty pages below take a few minutes each to read.

Reproduction & muscle

• Testosterone Strength · mood · libido From the hypothalamus to the testes, on to muscle, mood and sperm production.
• DHEA Precursor · ageing Produced by the adrenals, it's the raw material for making testosterone and oestrogen.

Reproduction & cycle

• FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) Cycle · ripening Triggers the ripening of ovarian follicles at the start of the menstrual cycle.
• LH (luteinising hormone) Ovulation · trigger Its sudden peak triggers ovulation, about 36 h later.
• Oestrogen Cycle · reproduction The trio of key female hormones, from the brain to the ovaries and on to the menstrual cycle.
• Progesterone Cycle · pregnancy Prepares for and maintains a possible pregnancy after ovulation.
• Prolactin Lactation · hormonal rest Triggers and maintains milk production after birth.

Stress & metabolism

• Cortisol Stress · alertness The stress axis: how the body mobilises energy in the face of a threat.
• Adrenaline Emergency · fight or flight The emergency hormone, which prepares the body for action in seconds.
• Noradrenaline Alertness · concentration Adrenaline's cousin, it maintains alertness and concentration more than it triggers emergencies.

Brain & mood

• Dopamine Motivation · reward The real engine of motivation, not just the pleasure hormone.
• Serotonin Mood · wellbeing Often called the wellbeing hormone, 90% of it produced in the gut.
• Oxytocin Attachment · social bonding The social bonding hormone — birth, breastfeeding, trust.
• Endorphins Pain relief · wellbeing The body's natural morphines: they reduce pain and create a sense of wellbeing.

Blood sugar regulation

• Insulin Blood sugar · storage How the body puts away the sugar in your blood after a meal.
• Glucagon Blood sugar · fasting The opposite of insulin — it raises blood sugar when it drops too low.

Hunger & fullness

• Leptin Fullness · energy reserves Produced by fat tissue, it signals to the brain that energy reserves are sufficient.
• Ghrelin Hunger · before meals Secreted by an empty stomach, it triggers the feeling of hunger.

Growth & metabolism

• Growth hormone Anabolism · recovery From the hypothalamus to the liver, everything that stimulates GH and what it brings the body.
• Somatostatin The universal brake The great hormonal brake: it inhibits GH, insulin, glucagon and several other hormones.

Metabolism

• Thyroid Metabolism · energy The thermostat of your metabolism, from the brain to every cell.

Circadian rhythm

• Melatonin Sleep · rhythm The evening hormone: how darkness triggers falling asleep.

Water balance

• Renin Trigger · blood pressure Secreted by the kidneys when blood pressure falls, it sets off the whole cascade that brings it back up.
• Angiotensin II Vessel narrowing · thirst A powerful vessel-narrowing agent that raises blood pressure directly and triggers aldosterone.
• Aldosterone Sodium · blood pressure Produced by the adrenals, it holds on to sodium and water to maintain blood pressure.
• Vasopressin (ADH) Water retention · thirst Antidiuretic hormone: it tells the kidneys to hold on to water when the body is dehydrated.

Calcium & bone

• Parathyroid hormone (PTH) Calcium · bone Secreted when blood calcium falls, it brings it back up by drawing on the bones.
• Calcitonin Calcium · the opposite of PTH Secreted by the thyroid when blood calcium is too high, it brings it back down.

Blood & oxygen

• Erythropoietin (EPO) Red blood cells · oxygen Produced by the kidneys when short of oxygen, it orders the bone marrow to make more red blood cells.

Immunity

• Histamine Wakefulness · immune response Released by mast cells during an immune reaction, and by neurons that maintain wakefulness.

See the full interactive diagram in Spibio

In the app, on subscription — no commitment, cancel in two taps.