Quarantine Brain – Growth Hormone Deficiency Syndrome?

June 24, 2020

Covid 19 seems to have made us all perceive the world in a different way.  It feels as if some good things and/or some not so good things have crept into our lives when we weren’t looking.

No doubt, Covid 19 and subsequent quarantine has had a profound effect on us.  When asking my patients what bothers them most during this time, the number one answer is not being able to “go out” especially to the gym or restaurants.  When asked why, the answer is always the same, they miss socialization with other people. They can work at home, work out at home, eat take out restaurant food at home, but they miss interaction with other people.  People crave touch, intimacy, and closeness with others in a kind of “energy” exchange.   Zoom hasn’t perfected transmitting touch and energy we sense from others.

Being quarantined can be life altering, emotional, shocking, and traumatic.   And.. I see this trauma reflected on patient’s blood test results as a decrease in Growth Hormone (GH) metabolites IGF-1 and IGF-BP3.   In every major trauma whether it be physical, mental, or emotional, Growth Hormone is the first hormone to go down which effectively shuts down the rest of the body as GH oversees our adrenals, thyroid, sex hormones, immune system, ability to burn fat and make muscle, exercise recovery, motivation and cognitive functioning.  Whew! When GH goes down, all those systems go down!

GH  has a huge impact on mental and cognitive health.  It has an antidepressant effect by increasing endorphins, and a ‘feel good’ effect by increasing dopamine. Both endorphins and dopamine work together to help relieve stress and anxiety.*

Even a little dip in this hormone can make you feel anxious ‘for no reason’, depressed, unmotivated, and nothing is quite right with your world.  ** You might have brain fog, impaired short term memory, poor physical exertion and recovery, and mental fatigue.  For the majority of my patients, what happened in quarantine is diets were not as good, people were not working out as intensely, and routines were completely disrupted.  The outcome was a deceased GH.

So in stressful traumatic time, think about increasing your GH using some simple tricks below.

Ways to Increase Your GH

    • DIET:
      • Eat a light dinner a minimum of 3 hours before bed.
      • Eat more proteins, lots of protein whether they be animal or plant. GH loves protein and amino acids.
      • No gluten, No alcohol, No added sugar
      • Intermittent fasting 16 hours overnight will help the increase of GH!
    • EXERCISE:  High intensity workouts, sprints, and my favorite Zach Bush, MD 4 minute workout done as fast as you can.  You need to exercise to exhaustion to increase your GH.  Good news, that same GH will help you to recover faster!
    • SLEEP: GH needs you to sleep so it can replenish itself.  The better you sleep, the more GH you produce,  the more refreshed you feel when you wake up, and the more GH you make, the better you will sleep. Alcohol hinders this cycle.
    • AIDS:  Otropin or Secretropin spray deliver amino acids to your brain to help fuel GH production.  Sermorelin, is an injectable peptide that stimulates the pituitary gland to release GH.  And in severe cases, synthetic GH itself can be injected.

So get out there and exercise today, follow it with good organic food in limited amounts, sleep well tonight, and your life should go much smoother whether you are in or out of quarantine!

To top it off, you are also protecting yourself against Covid.  Amazing stuff GH!  Don’t let yours go down!

Have an awesome day.  Dr D

Posted in Coronavirus, Covid19, Growth Hormone Deficiency, Growth Hormones, Hormonal Chemistry, Hormone Balance, Hormone Imbalance, Hormone Therapy, hormones and tagged , , ,