Meet your stress hormone: cortisol

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that plays a role in a variety of processes like stress, metabolism, blood sugar regulation, and immunity. So while cortisol is involved with other functions, it has a critical relationship with stress. In times of stress, the hypothalamus signals to the pituitary to activate hormones that tell the adrenals to pump out cortisol. This is known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (aka HPA-axis). This system regulates physiological processes throughout our body thanks to the production of cortisol.

Cortisol is necessary for a healthy stress response. Back in the Paleolithic era, we needed cortisol and a stress response to keep us on high alert because of predators and external factors (tigers, bears, weather conditions, low food supply, etc.). Without the help of cortisol raising our blood pressure, dilating our pupils, and getting blood flow to our extremities, we wouldn’t have survived very long if nothing was alarming us. However, in modern times we obviously don’t have to worry about being chased by a tiger, but the stress response is still highly active in dealing with other forms of stress like what’s happening in the world, our financial situation, our family life, our standard American diet and so forth. Whether it’s a real situation happening to us or our minds ruminating and worrying over something, our adrenals are pumping out cortisol because a perceived stressor is getting us ready to fight or flight.

Acute stress is fine for example when your manager yells at you, or someone cuts you off in traffic, but chronic stress is when issues arise. Some long-term effects of chronically elevated cortisol are: insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes, low progesterone, estrogen dominance, and other hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, HPA-axis dysfunction, decreased immune response, and impaired thyroid function.

It’s also important to note that too little cortisol isn’t ideal either. This is because chronically elevated levels of cortisol can cause the adrenals to lower the production of cortisol over time. So, the key with cortisol is to keep it balanced: too much or too little can cause a variety of problems down the road.

Now that we have a little backstory on cortisol, how do we really know if ours is out of whack?

Here are some signs and symptoms to look out for:

High cortisol:

1.    Tired and wired

2.    Difficulty falling or staying asleep

3.    Sugar cravings

4.    Anxiety

5.    Difficulty concentrating

6.    High blood pressure

7.    Increased belly fat

Low cortisol:

1.    Fatigue

2.    Difficulty staying asleep

3.    Difficulty waking up and/or feeling unrested

4.    Dizziness

5.    Low blood pressure

6.    Depression

Don’t get more stressed if you’re noticing you have a few or more of these signs, but start to become aware of how your body is really feeling on a day-to-day basis. And not to fear, there are several lifestyle modifications you can make to keep cortisol at normal levels.

Here are some of the main categories: sleep, movement, mindfulness, and nutrition. I know how difficult it is to change every aspect of your lifestyle, so it’s important to pick one category you can really focus on tweaking. I’ll share a couple tips for each category so you can decide what is going to work best for you to start.

Sleep:

1.    Create a bedtime ritual: starting at 8 pm you begin to wind down, light some candles, turn your phone on airplane mode, read a book, take a bath, or whatever relaxes you before settling into bed

2.    Turn off the news a few hours before bed

Movement:

1.    Schedule in your favorite activity 3x a week (a morning or evening walk, a spin class, dance video, whatever your heart desires)

2.    Gentle yoga or stretching in the morning or evening

Mindfulness:

1.    Morning or evening meditation (5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever you have the time for)

2.    Breathe! (we don’t notice how often we’re not breathing, so take a couple of minutes to inhale through your nose and exhale through your nose or mouth making sure the exhale is longer than the inhale)

3.    Journal and/or brain dump (list what you’re grateful for, what’s on your mind that’s causing stress, affirmations, or free write)

Nutrition

1.    Try cutting down multiple cups of coffee to one coffee per day

2.    Have a nourishing breakfast with fiber, fat, and protein

If you’d like 1:1 support with this, click here to book a free consultation and we can get started on your journey!