At-home collection. Meaningful insights. Personalized plan.
Discover why you’re having trouble sleeping. This at-home dry urine test tracks hormone fluctuations that regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Results include a personalized health plan.
Sleep Test
Sleep is essential when it comes to optimal health. When we get deep, restorative, quality sleep - we are able to effectively heal, repair, and detox many of the toxins and stressors we accumulated through the day. If we are not experiencing this deep, quality sleep - we are increasing the risks for many illness and diseases, along with feeling exhausted on a day-to-da basis and not living life to its fullest.
You should take this test if you:
Have trouble falling asleep | Don't feel rested after sleeping |
Wake up during the night | Feel tired but wired |
Wake up too early | Experience mid-day energy dip |
Sleep Test 101
The body's alternating cycle of sleep and waking is directly related to the levels of two key hormones: melatonin and cortisol. Understanding the fluctuations of these biomarkers throughout the day and how they relate to each other is important for determining why you may be experiencing sleeping difficulty. Sixty million Americans are estimated to persistently suffer from sleep deprivation. And 70 percent of adults experience daily stress to the point where it disrupts their nightly sleep.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate the body's internal biological clock. Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland, a pea-sized gland located in your brain. During the day, the pineal gland is inactive. When the sun goes down and darkness occurs, the pineal is activated and begins to produce melatonin. Typically, melatonin levels peak around bedtime, stay elevated throughout the night, and then fall back to daytime levels in the morning.
Melatonin is known as the "Dracula of hormones" because your body naturally produces melatonin in response to darkness, and production is "shut off" by bright light. The feedback between the body and the environment is the primary way your body knows when it should be asleep or awake. In other words, melatonin levels directly impact your sleep cycle by helping to induce and maintain normal sleep.
If melatonin never rises properly at night or if production is disrupted by light or other factors, you may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation.
Low levels of melatonin in the evening/night are related to the following symptoms: difficulty falling asleep at night, waking up during the night, waking up too early, fatigue, not feeling rested, and daytime tiredness or sleepiness.
On the other hand, if your levels of melatonin are higher than the normal range in the morning/daytime, you may experience fatigue, grogginess, or reduced core body temperature.
Many things can disrupt this cycle, including stress, dietary factors, medications, your environment, your work schedule, and the amount or timing of light exposure.
Cortisol
- Raising your blood sugar, giving you energy, and probably also making you hungry for breakfast soon after
- Increasing your metabolism and getting you ready to be active
- Preparing you for the upcoming stressors of the day
When Cortisol is Too High
It is important for health that your adrenal glands secrete cortisol in response to stress. However, it is equally as important that your cortisol levels return to normal following a stressful event. If the stress response is activated too often, then your body doesn't have a chance to return to normal. When cortisol levels are too high, then your body feels "on" all the time. You may have disturbed sleep, excessive hunger, weight gain, and anxious mood. Elevated levels of stress hormones can impair your body's ability to absorb nutrients from your food because cortisol tells your body to stop producing the enzymes needed for digestion.
When Cortisol is Too Low
Potential Symptoms
When your melatonin level does not rise properly at night, you might experience any of the following symptoms:
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When your cortisol pattern is abnormal, you might experience any of the following symptoms:
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Key Biomarkers Measured via Urine:
Melatonin is known as the “Dracula of hormones” because your body naturally produces melatonin in response to darkness. Melatonin levels directly impact your sleep cycle by helping to induce sleep and increase sleep duration.
Cortisol the primary hormone from your adrenal gland that is responsible for signaling the body to be awake and responsive. When levels are out of balance, sleep and health can be affected.
Collection Timing of Melatonin
To determine melatonin levels, the Thorne Sleep Test actually measures MT6s, a stable metabolite of melatonin that can be found in urine. When looking at the graph of your melatonin results throughout the day, it is important to note that your urine sample reflects your body's melatonin levels earlier in the day. For example, your first urine sample taken as soon as you wake up in the morning indicates the level of melatonin in your body during the nighttime.
Collection | Reflects Melatonin Levels During |
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1st | Nighttime |
2nd | Morning |
3rd | Daytime |
4th | Evening |
Collection Timing of Cortisol
When looking at the graph of your results, it is important to note that your urine sample reflects your body's cortisol levels from earlier times during the day. For example, your first urine sample taken when you wake up in the morning indicates the level of cortisol in your body the night before.
Collection | Reflects Cortisol Levels During |
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1st | Nighttime |
2nd | Morning |
3rd | Daytime |
4th | Evening |
Shipping
*US law prohibits shipment of lab products to New York State, Rhode Island, and Kansas.
*Attention International Clients: Return shipping is not included with this lab purchase. Please check with your country’s regulations on shipping your sample back to US.