Why do hormones make me feel tired and moody?
If you’ve found yourself asking this, often late in the evening or after a day that felt strangely heavy, you’re not alone. Many women notice a kind of emotional and physical fatigue that feels out of proportion to what’s actually happening in their lives. It can be confusing — and sometimes unsettling — especially if you’ve always been resilient, capable, and steady.
The most important thing to know up front is this: feeling tired and moody during hormonal shifts is common, biologically grounded, and not a personal failing. Your body and brain are responding to real internal changes. Understanding those changes can help soften self‑blame and make room for a more compassionate way forward.
What’s happening in the body and brain
Hormones are chemical messengers. They travel through the bloodstream delivering instructions that help coordinate energy, mood, sleep, temperature, appetite, and stress response. Oestrogen and progesterone, in particular, have wide-reaching effects — not just on the reproductive system, but on the brain and nervous system.
Oestrogen supports many brain functions associated with focus, motivation, and emotional balance. It interacts with neurotransmitters like serotonin (often linked with mood stability), dopamine (motivation and reward), and norepinephrine (alertness and energy). When oestrogen levels are steady, these systems tend to work smoothly together.
During perimenopause and menopause, oestrogen doesn’t simply decline in a straight line. It fluctuates — sometimes sharply. These fluctuations can temporarily disrupt neurotransmitter signaling, making the brain work harder to maintain balance. The result can feel like mental fog, increased emotional sensitivity, low energy, or sudden dips in mood.
Progesterone also plays a role. It has a naturally calming effect on the nervous system, partly through its interaction with GABA, a neurotransmitter associated with relaxation. When progesterone levels fall or become inconsistent, that soothing influence can weaken. Some women describe feeling more wired, more fragile, or more emotionally reactive as a result.
This isn’t about something “going wrong.” It’s about a system adapting to change.
The nervous system’s role in mood and fatigue
Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety and threat — not just physical danger, but internal signals like hormonal shifts. When hormones fluctuate, the nervous system may interpret this as instability and move more easily into a state of vigilance.
In this state, small stressors can feel bigger. Emotional reactions can arrive faster. Recovery takes longer. At the same time, being in a heightened state of alertness is metabolically expensive. It uses energy. Over days or weeks, this can contribute to a deep, heavy tiredness that sleep alone doesn’t always fix.
This is why moodiness and fatigue often show up together. They’re not separate problems — they’re two expressions of the same underlying sensitivity.
Why it often shows up at night
Many women notice that their mood dips or exhaustion peaks in the evening. There are a few biological reasons for this.
First, hormones follow daily rhythms. Oestrogen and cortisol (a hormone involved in energy and stress) tend to be higher in the morning and lower at night. When overall hormone levels are already fluctuating, the natural evening drop can feel more pronounced — like hitting a wall.
Second, the brain has spent the entire day regulating emotions, making decisions, and managing stress. By evening, those regulatory resources are simply more depleted. When emotional buffering is lower, feelings can come through more strongly.
Finally, nighttime is often quieter. When external demands fade, internal sensations become more noticeable. Feelings that were held at bay during the day can surface once there’s space.
This pattern doesn’t mean something is “wrong” with your evenings. It reflects how the body prioritizes survival and function — and where it finally lets down its guard.
Common amplifiers that can intensify the experience
Hormonal sensitivity doesn’t exist in isolation. Certain factors can amplify tiredness and mood changes by adding extra load to the nervous system.
Chronic stress is a major one. When stress is ongoing, the body spends more time in a heightened state of alert, which can worsen hormonal volatility and deepen fatigue.
Sleep debt also matters. Even subtle disruptions to sleep — waking earlier than usual, lighter sleep, or fragmented nights — can significantly affect mood regulation and energy, especially during hormonal transition.
Alcohol deserves a mention, not as a rule or warning, but as a physiological reality. It can temporarily feel relaxing, yet it disrupts sleep architecture and influences neurotransmitters involved in mood. For some women, this makes emotional lows more noticeable the following day.
Busy lifestyles, emotional caregiving, and long periods of self-neglect can also compound the issue. When your internal systems are already adapting to hormonal change, there’s less margin for overload.
What tends to help most women (in a broad sense)
While there’s no single solution, many women find relief not by “fixing” their hormones, but by reducing the strain on their nervous system.
Understanding what’s happening is often the first and most powerful shift. When fatigue and moodiness are seen as signals rather than shortcomings, self-judgment softens — and that alone can reduce internal stress.
Gentler pacing, realistic expectations, and permission to rest emotionally (not just physically) tend to support nervous system resilience. So does consistency: regular rhythms, predictable routines, and stable anchors throughout the day can help the brain feel safer during hormonal variability.
Emotional validation also matters. Talking openly, naming what you’re feeling, or simply acknowledging “this is hard right now” can prevent emotions from turning inward.
What helps is rarely dramatic. It’s often subtle, cumulative, and deeply personal.
A gentler way forward
Hormonal transitions invite a different relationship with energy, emotion, and self‑expectation. The tiredness and moodiness many women experience are not signs of weakness or decline — they’re signs of a body recalibrating after decades of cyclical hormonal rhythm.
Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with me?” a gentler question might be, “What is my body asking for right now?” Sometimes the answer is rest. Sometimes it’s understanding. Sometimes it’s simply patience.
You are not imagining these changes. You are not alone in them. And you are not broken. You are moving through a biologically meaningful transition — one that deserves care, context, and compassion.
