Play the Hormone Match Game to Master the Messengers of Health
Hormones fuel so much of how you experience life. Happiness has a hormone. Love has one. Stress has several.
Their power comes from the ability for hormones to influence so many aspects of your health. These complex molecules transfer messages all around your body. They can help you feel serene or stressed. They up the tempo on your heartbeat or ramp down your systems so you’re ready for bed.
Even though they’re some of the most important messengers in your body, how much do you know about hormones? Are you an expert on which hormones are associated with specific life situations? Do you know where cortisol or insulin or melatonin come from in your body?
Show off your knowledge by playing the hormone match game. Answer the questions below by selecting the hormone or hormones that correspond with the action or place of origin.
Play the Hormone Match Game
Your Hormone Cheat Sheet
Need to know more about hormones? Learn all the information you need to know to come back and ace the quiz next time—and help you understand how these important messengers impact your health.
- Insulin: This key hormone in metabolism is produced in the pancreas and allows cells all over your body to take in the energy they need—especially via glucose, but also through fat and protein breakdown.
- Cortisol: Your main steroid stress hormone’s production is handled by the adrenal glands, but it’s triggered by your brain in response to stressors. It impacts many areas of the body—from blood pressure, memory, and metabolism to balancing salt and water.
- Adrenaline: That jolt created by adventures—like rollercoasters or skydiving—is thanks to the flight-or-flight hormone made in your adrenal glands. It preps your body’s systems—cardiovascular and muscular, especially—to flee or defend yourself from a stressor.
- Estrogen: This key female sex hormone is mainly produced in the ovaries and controls menstrual cycles and promotes the growth of reproductive anatomy during puberty. It also plays a role in mood, bones, cardiovascular function, and the skin. Found in limited amounts in men, as well.
- Testosterone: A key male sex hormone mainly produced in the testes. It helps with the development of male-specific physical features during puberty, and spurs sperm production. Testosterone is also found in women in limited amounts.
- Glucagon: The name tells you a lot about this pancreatic hormone that helps support healthy blood sugar levels.
- Norepinephrine: Since it’s made in the adrenal gland, this hormone’s connection to stress is pretty clear. As a response to exercise or a stressor, norepinephrine plays a role in heart rate and energy usage. It also acts as a neurotransmitter and impact mood and emotions.
- Melatonin: Your sleep hormone originates primarily from your brain’s pineal gland. It helps regulate normal sleep and wake cycles by helping your body prepare for slumber.
- Oxytocin: Love’s favorite hormone helps build bond and deepen connections. It starts in the hypothalamus, but the pituitary gland is responsible for secretion of oxytocin. The love hormone also plays roles in reproductive function, lactation, and social behaviors.
- Serotonin: You may know it for ties to mood and happiness, but serotonin plays roles throughout your body—in digestion, sleep, bone health, and wound healing. It’s produced by nerve cells all over your body.
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