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Asked by KittyKat to Georgina, Livia, Laura, Kristi, Chris on 7 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by 355strk33.
Question: why do we have hormones?
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Kristi Sawyer answered on 7 Nov 2017:
Hormones are chemical messengers that flow in our blood. They allow different areas of the body to communicate. For example, cortisol, which is released when we are stressed, activates many parts of our body, such as breaking down fat and changing our blood pressure to give us more energy and allow us to combat the stressful situation more effectively.
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Livia Carvalho answered on 7 Nov 2017:
I like to think of hormones like a conductor in an orchestra, where different organs are the individual instruments. If the orchestra didnt have a conductor, all instruments despite working perfectly on their own, the conjunction of all instruments playing together may sound a bit odd. The conductor helps to organize everything, and lead to a harmony between all instruments.
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Laura Ginesi answered on 7 Nov 2017:
it’s important that all of the different parts of the body communicate with each other so that all of the body’s systems are co-ordinated and don’t stray too far away from their normal functions.
Hormones are chemical signal molecules. some hormones them work locally and have an effect on the behaviour of neighbouring cells. Some of them travel in the bloodstream and have their effect away from where they are made.
Some hormones only work at a few “target cells” that read the hormone’s message and carry out the instructions – which might mean that genes are activated and proteins are made e.g. growth
Some hormones – like adrenaline and cortisol which are released when we are stressed – activate cells in lots of parts of the body – enabling use to use energy that’s stored in fats and helping us to deal with the pressures and challenges more effectively.
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