Test your thyroid function?
You can test your thyroid function at home by looking for hypothyroid symptoms and measuring body temperature and pulse rate.
According to Dr. Ray Peat, this gives you a reliable indication of your actual thyroid function on the cellular level, meaning your actual metabolic rate.
You find a list of some common symptoms of hypothyroidism here.
Below instructions are given for how to measure your pulse and temperature.
Stress hormones can keep your pulse and temperature artificially high, therefore you need to take the measurement in a specific way, in order to estimate the thyroid function and not the effect of the stress hormones.
See pulse and temperature instructions below.
If you have several of the symptoms of hypothyroidism and your oral temperature and pulse rate are consistently significantly below 98.6°F (37 °C) and 85 beats per minute, you might have a problem with your thyroid function.
Best way to measure thyroid function?
When doctors measure thyroid function they take a blood test for TSH and the thyroid hormones T4, and T4.
Thyroid blood tests provide important information, however, they don’t give you the actual thyroid function on the cellular level.
Many things affect the cellular response to the circulating thyroid hormones, thus you might have a normal level of these hormones in your blood, but your actual thyroid function on the cellular level might be low.
By measuring your body temperature and pulse rate as well as looking for symptoms of hypothyroidism you can more correctly estimate your actual thyroid function on the cellular level.
thyroid function and body temperature?
The oral temperature that corresponds to good thyroid functions for adults is 98.6° F (37° C). An oral temperature consistently significantly below 98.6° F (37° C) is an indication of hypothyroidism (low thyroid function).
When you measure your temperature you can use a digital thermometer under the tongue or an eardrum thermometer.
Importantly the eardrum temperature reading will be a little higher than the oral reading:
- An eardrum temperature is 0.5°F (0.3°C) to 1°F (0.6°C) higher than an oral temperature.
Often the eardrum temperature is easier to use, as the oral temperature will be affected by any warm or cold drink you might have been consuming.
The temperature of good thyroid function
| Mouth | 37.0°C (98.6°F ) |
| Ear | 37.3°C – 37.6°C (99.1°F – 99.6°F) |
Mouth measurement
- Carefully place the tip of the thermometer under the tongue.
- With your mouth closed, leave the thermometer in place for about 1 minute until you hear the “beep”.
Ear Measurement
- Gently tug on the ear, pulling it back. This will help straighten the ear canal and make a clear path to the eardrum.
- Gently insert the thermometer until the ear canal is fully sealed off. Take your measurement.
Can The temperature be invalid?
Hot weather or sleeping under an electric blanket increases the body temperature towards normal in a hypothyroid person, thus in these situations, the temperature is not valid and the pulse rate is the important factor in determining the thyroid function.
Thyroid function and pulse rate?
Pulse rate of good thyroid function?
According to Dr. Ray Peat, a person with good thyroid function will have a resting pulse rate of about 80-85 beats per minute, with up to 90 beats per minute being healthy.
You can use your fingers on the wrist to measure your pulse, you can also use a pulse monitor or blood pressure monitor, which also gives you the pulse rate.
Why do doctors say a low pulse rate is healthy?
Often doctors talk about a low pulse rate as healthy. An athlete’s resting heart rate is lower because exercise strengthens the heart muscle, which allows the heart to pump a greater amount of blood with each heartbeat. More oxygen is thereby delivered to the tissues with each beat, allowing for a slower pulse rate.
However, if you are not an athlete a low pulse rate is a sign of low thyroid function.
Thyroid function or Stress hormones?
Hypothyroid people often compensate for the low cellular energy by increasing the stress hormones, cortisol, and adrenalin.
The stress hormones are there to compensate for the low thyroid function and they keep the body temperature and pulse rate up.
The stress hormones are highest in the morning before eating breakfast.
What are the signs of High cortisol?
High cortisol in the morning is common in hypothyroid people. Cortisol keeps your body temperature up into a normal range, even though you have a low thyroid function.
If your cortisol is high, there will be a drop in temperature after breakfast, as the cortisol is allowed to normalize, with increased blood sugar.
What are the signs of High Adrenalin?
According to Dr. Ray Peat, the adrenaline can be up to 40 times higher in a hypothyroid person compared to a person with good thyroid function, this leads to a very high pulse rate, which can create problems with falling asleep and waking up during the night. The high adrenaline also tends to cause cold hands, feet, and nose.
If your adrenalin is high, there will be a drop in pulse rate after breakfast, as the adrenalin is allowed to normalize, with increased blood sugar.
Thyroid Test Schema
You can use our schema to keep track of your pulse and temperature. It is good to take the measurements for two weeks.
Test your thyroid function using temperature, pulse, and symptoms?
You can separate the effect of your stress hormones from your thyroid function by measuring the temperature and pulse rate before and after breakfast.
We recommend taking your pulse and temperature measurement upon waking and about 30 minutes after breakfast.
It is important that the breakfast contains protein, salt, and good carbohydrates in order for the stress hormones to come down; it could be eggs with salt and orange juice or cheese with fruits.
If you observe that your pulse and temperature fall significantly after breakfast you are running on stress hormones and do not have good thyroid function.
If you have good thyroid function you often wake up with a bit low temperature and pulse rate, which then after breakfast increases to an oral temperature, and pulse rate of 98.6°F (37 °C) and 80-85 beats per minute respectively. These values indicate good thyroid function and should stay stable during the day. Thus you can verify the measurements by taking afternoon measurements too.
Is your thyroid therapy working?
If you use some form of thyroid replacement therapy, it is essential to keep track of your pulse and temperature in order to evaluate the efficiency of the supplement or drug.
Our approach to improving thyroid function is based on the research of Dr. Ray Peat. You can learn more about the Ray Peat health method here.
Our services are all online and include E-material and video counseling.
If you have used this thyroid test and found that your pulse and temperature as well as symptoms indicate low thyroid function, it is a good idea to book a video session with our thyroid specialist to discuss your health situation.
In the video sessions, we focus on your health issues, and your pulse and temperature measurements are used to evaluate your thyroid function. If you have had blood test done for thyroid function, they are also reviewed.