Do you ever get STRESSED OUT?
Don’t worry…I do too!
When we get stressed out, cortisol is one of the hormones that can help us make it through the day. If you’re thinking: “But that’s every day for me!”, then you’ll want to watch this short video where I’ll share my TOP 3 tips for balancing your cortisol levels so you can handle stress more effectively.
What is cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone made by our adrenal glands (two little triangular shaped organs that sit on top of each kidney – so we have one right and one left adrenal gland). (1)
What does cortisol do?
Our adrenal glands release cortisol to help us deal with long-term stressors like:
- High-stress jobs
- Balancing work, home, relationships and all of your other many responsibilities
- Coping with a loved one’s illness
- Coping with our own long-standing health concerns like infertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
How does cortisol help us deal with long-term stressors?
Cortisol raises our blood sugar by converting fats & proteins into glucose (sugar). (1, 2)
Glucose is the preferred fuel of our cells because our cells can convert it to energy very efficiently. And when we’re stressed out, we need lots of energy to fuel our brain to help us make the right decisions and of course to fuel our other vital organs like our hearts, lungs and muscles. (1, 2)
So what’s the problem?
If we are consistently stressed out – day in and day out – our adrenal glands need to make lots of cortisol on a repeated basis. Excess cortisol over time (months & years) can lead to:
- Weight gain (around your belly of all places!)
- Insulin resistance (if you missed last week’s quick video on why insulin is so important for healthy weight and blood sugars, watch it here now!)
- Disruption of female reproductive hormones (estrogen, progesterone) which can lead to:
- Irregular, heavy and/or painful periods
- Decreased libido (lowered sex drive)
- Fertility issues/trouble trying to conceive
- Hot flashes
- Thyroid hormone disruption
- Insomnia (especially if too much cortisol is made at night)
- Immune suppression (ever wonder why you get sick after a super stressful event?!)
(2)
On the other end of the spectrum, too little cortisol isn’t good either because it can lead to
- Difficulty getting out of bed in the morning
- Inability to handle stress
- Decreased ability of other hormones to function optimally, including thyroid hormone, estrogen & progesterone
(2)
So what can we do about this?
Saying we need to relieve stress is obvious – but I know the million dollar question is how? The answer will be unique to each person, but my top 3 tips for YOU today are:
- Eat to balance your blood sugars: If your blood sugar levels drop too low, cortisol is released because the body considers blood sugar levels that are too low (hypoglycemia) to be a stress on the body. Watch last week’s video for some basic nutrition tips to stabilize your blood sugar levels.
- Practice relaxation techniques daily: Abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and positive Self-talk can all be used to help turn off your stress response and turn on your relaxation response.
- Physical activity: Find something active you LOVE to do. I know – this may take a while, but keep at it. It doesn’t have to be the typical running or hitting the gym, both of which are great of course, but if these don’t excite you, you won’t be motivated to it. So think outside the box. What about yoga, kickboxing, dance lessons, rowing, dragon boating or dodgeball (yes, it’s a thing!). The bottom line is to find something you LOVE to do, so it doesn’t feel like you’re being forced to “exercise”. I truly believe there’s something out there for everyone…so start looking!
Final Thoughts
You can’t balance cortisol by getting rid of all of the stress in your life – that would be unrealistic and unnecessary because there’s always going to be stress (and some stress can actually be positive motivators). Instead, by introducing the tips above (start one at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed!), you can help cortisol work smarter not harder – and thus keep it, and your other hormones in better balance.
Next week, we’ll be learning about a hormone the women are going to be super interested in – here’s a hint – it’s in charge of our metabolism!
References:
- Marieb, EN. Essentials of human anatomy & physiology. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson Inc.; 2015.
- Bellevue, Shannon Ed. Functional and personalized hormone restoration therapy live event workbook. LP3 Network Inc. 2017.
Take good care of your Self until then!
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