The Sleep Hormones Profile includes the following tests performed on saliva:

• Melatonin – 1 specimen
• Cortisol – 4 specimens

Sample Report

Exhausted, but still can't sleep? When it comes to living healthy, we all know that sleep matters! Yet the majority of people get too little sleep or experience poor quality sleep since they fail to cycle through the five necessary stages each night.

Stage 1: Light sleep. A restful place where we sometimes experience a feeling of falling.

Stage 2: Light sleep. Body temperature begins to fall and heart rate slows.

Stage 3: Transitional period between light sleep and deep sleep.

Stage 4: Deep sleep

Stage 5: REM sleep. Characterized by rapid eye movement, increased respiration rate, and brain activity. Associated with vivid dreams.

Optimal, restorative sleep cycles through these five stages approximately 4 or 5 times each night. But…if your cortisol or melatonin levels are markedly disturbed, you're probably tossing and turning or waking up throughout the night.

High cortisol levels in the evening, as you're preparing to sleep, inhibit melatonin production. Known as ‘the hormone of the dark', because it starts rising as the sun goes down, melatonin is key in regulating your body's internal clock and is necessary to induce deep sleep. As it gets later and darker, your body cranks out higher levels of melatonin until about 3:00 a.m., when it peaks and your body temperature is at its lowest.

If you experience any type of sleeping difficulty, having your hormones checked should be part of your plan to achieve a healthy life. We all know that skipping sleep doesn't get us ahead…it makes us sick, depressed, inflamed, and overweight!

Instructions

The following documents provide a full set of instructions for completing the test:

Instructions

Note

Results take 7-10 days from the time the laboratory receives your sample. This test is not available in Pennsylvania. The results for this test can only be received via mail, e-mail, or fax.