Reader\'s Digest Australia & New Zealand - June 2018

THE DIGEST

18 | June• 2018

HEALTH

8 Silent hyroid

Symptoms to Look For

BY ALYSSA JUNG

THE THYROID, A BUTTERFLY-

shapedglandintheneck,produces

hormones essential for metabolism

andbrainactivity.Symptomsofa

thyroidproblemareoftenvague,

butifyounoticeanyofthefollowing

signsorhavemorethanone,see

yourdoctorforasimplebloodtest

togaugeyourhormonelevels.

he symptoms of an overactive

thyroid and an underactive th roid

arebotheasilytre

1

SLEEP CHAN

If you’ve alway

been a good

sleeper but

suddenly can’t

snooze through

thenight,itcould

signal a thyroid

problem. An

overactive thyroi

pumps out certai

hormones (triiodothyronine, known

as T3, and thyroxine, known as T4) in

excess,whichcanoverstimulatethe

centralnervoussystemandleadto

insomnia, says Dr Hossein Gharib,

a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.

Onthelipside,ifyoustillfeeltired

afterafullnight’ssleep(orneedto

sleepmorethanusual),youmight

have an underactive thyroid, in

which our bod doesn’t produce

mones.

SUDDEN

ANXIETY

you’ve never

truggled with

nxiety but

tart to feel

onsistently

nxious, your

yroid might

veractive.

any thyroid PHOTO: ISTOCK