A composite score across the four pillars that depend on GH output: sleep depth, recovery, daytime energy, and (optionally) IGF-1. See whether your axis is supporting you, or whether it may need support.
Fill in your profile to see a GH-axis score across sleep, recovery, energy, and (optionally) IGF-1.
A low score is a signal that your GH axis may be worth discussing with a physician.
Score range is 0-30. The bands aren’t diagnostic, they’re a structured way to think about whether the GH axis is the right intervention to consider.
Sleep, recovery, and energy are working. GH-axis support unlikely to add much. Focus on lifestyle compounding.
Some pillars are slipping. Start with lifestyle, sleep, training, and recovery. Worth a physician conversation if symptoms persist.
Multiple pillars compromised. Worth discussing with a physician alongside sleep and lifestyle work.
Sleep, energy, and related markers appear under-served. Worth a physician conversation about your GH axis; a baseline IGF-1 lab helps clarify the picture. Individual results vary.
Growth-hormone output peaks in your late teens and declines steadily, roughly 1-2% a year after 30. Drag the slider to see how much the axis shifts with age, then calculate your score above to plot where your own pillars land.
Growth hormone is hard to measure directly, serum GH is pulsatile and unreliable. The downstream tissue-level effects are the practical signal.
The vast majority of GH release happens in deep (stages 3-4) sleep. Patients with low GH output almost universally report poor sleep depth, frequent wake-ups, and feeling unrested. Sleep depth is usually the first pillar to slip as the GH axis declines.
Growth hormone plays a role in tendon, ligament, and connective-tissue repair. Slow recovery from normal daily activity and recurring soft-tissue issues can be signs of age-related GH-axis decline in adults over 40. This pillar reflects clinical assessment for documented decline.
The GH axis supports daytime energy, recovery, and sleep-driven restoration. The classic “adult GH-axis decline” pattern is lower energy, slower recovery, and lighter sleep. Under-supported axes drift toward this picture.
IGF-1 is the longer-acting messenger that mediates most of GH’s peripheral effects. Low IGF-1 (under ~150 ng/mL in adults) corroborates a low-GH picture; high values suggest your axis is working. Add it if you have a recent value.
Growth hormone is released in pulses, mostly during deep, slow-wave sleep. Your pituitary sends the signal, your liver responds by producing IGF-1, and that downstream marker is what a blood test actually measures. It’s the system behind overnight tissue repair, recovery, and how rested you feel the next day.
Output peaks in your late teens and then declines steadily, roughly 1-2% per year after age 30. By your 40s and 50s, total daily GH can be a fraction of what it once was, which is part of why sleep feels lighter and recovery takes longer even when nothing else has changed.
When lifestyle isn’t enough and labs support it, there are physician-guided approaches that work upstream, encouraging your own pituitary to release GH rather than replacing the hormone directly. Whether any of that is appropriate for you is a decision a U.S.-licensed physician makes after reviewing your history and labs.
A low score is a signal, not a diagnosis. A U.S.-licensed physician can review your sleep, recovery, energy, and IGF-1 and decide whether GH-axis support is appropriate for you.
Find my protocol →This is a structured, educational way to think about the growth-hormone axis using downstream signals like sleep and recovery. The bands are not diagnostic; GH status is assessed by a clinician. It is not medical advice.
How this tool calculates
Peer-reviewed sources
Important. This tool is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The tool does not prescribe medication, recommend specific dosing, or substitute for clinical evaluation. Compounded medications referenced anywhere on this site are not FDA-approved; the FDA does not verify the safety, effectiveness, or quality of compounded drugs. Treatment decisions are made only by a licensed U.S. physician after individual patient evaluation.
OPTML offers compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide, prescribed and overseen by U.S.-licensed physicians. Compounded drug products are not approved or evaluated for safety, effectiveness, or quality by the FDA. OPTML is not associated with, endorsed by, or affiliated with the manufacturers of FDA-approved branded weight-loss medications, and does not sell or supply those branded products. Anyone interested in an FDA-approved branded medication should consult a licensed healthcare provider or pharmacist. Individual results vary; no specific result is promised, and weight management requires ongoing medical guidance.
The whole picture in one sitting: who it suits, what the labs decide, what the first year actually looks like. Every clinical claim is cited.
How to protect lean mass while losing weight on a GLP-1.
Double-check your email. A typo means we cannot reach you or resend your guide.
We will send occasional emails you can unsubscribe from at any time. See our Privacy Policy.