Cortisol imbalance: All you need to know about the stress hormone

It is normal to stress, but this should not affect your daily functioning. If you are experiencing Chronic stress And exhaustion that affects your daily routine may be more than a bad week. Chronic stress and fatigue like this can be a red flag for something deeper – it may be a sign that you could have an imbalance of cortisol. But you are not alone; several Reddit threads Show a lot of users who deal with the same problem and wonder what the exact steps they can take to control their cortisol levels.

Both high and low cortisol levels – Also known as “stress hormone”- it can let you cope with symptoms that make you feel “off” and, as opposed to yourself. The good news is that there are ways to better manage stress levels. If you think you have a cortisol imbalance or are usually concerned about your health, be sure to consult a doctor first so you can take the appropriate exams.

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is the main body hormone, says Melissa Groves AzaroRegistered nutritionist and author of a balanced approach to PCOS. The hormone is produced in the adrenal glands in response to internal or external stressors.

Most people know cortisol about his role in the answer “Fight or Flight”, which is important, but cortisol actually plays a lot Other roles in the body.

In addition to limiting all body functions that are insignificant in a scenario of battle or flight, Cortisol also:

The greater part of your body cells contain cortisol receptors, so it is an important hormone, but like any hormone, too many or too little of it can be detrimental to your body and health.

Signs of cortisol imbalance

Everyone with the cortisol imbalance will differ, especially when distinguished between high and low cortisol.

Symptoms of high cortisol include:

• Weight gain, especially in the abdomen
• Anxiety and irritability
• A problem with falling asleep and stopping
• Nervousness
• Shakakes
• High heart rate
• Instruumability of blood sugar and blood pressure

Symptoms of low cortisol include:

• All -day low energy
• I feel “cable but tired”
• Strong fatigue and lack of focus
• Sugar and salt wish
• Apathy
• Low libido
• Memory problems

What causes cortisol imbalance?

“Overall, cortisol imbalances can be obtained due to extremely high stress or prolonged stress,” Azaro says. “While there are clinical diagnoses with high (Cushing Syndrome) and low (Addison’s disease) that require medical treatment, there is a large range of cortisol levels “outside the range” or inappropriate cortisol models that can affect our daily lives. “

The important thing is that cortisol imbalances are not always a simple question from high or low. The presence of cortisol imbalance can also mean that your cortisol is too high at certain times a day or too low at other times rather than a constant excess or shortage.

Nevertheless, there are some common culprits behind cortisol imbalances of any type.

Stress

Excessive and prolonged stress is the main cause of cortisol imbalance, whether high or low.

“High cortisol occurs when the body perceives a stressor,” says D -Tara ScottPhysician for functional medicine. “Your brain does not know if you are running off a bear or you have a deadline.”

The excess of cortisol increases your heart rate, makes you more fluent by increasing norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter that can also make you feel anxious) and increase your blood sugar, Scott explains.

“Low cortisol occurs after prolonged stress when your body sends a negative signal for feedback to your brain, saying,” We have a lot of cortisol here, don’t stimulate more production! “Says Scott. So your brain reduces adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH, the hormone that stimulates cortisol production) and periods of low cortisol occur. The levels can hesitate during the day or may be low throughout the day, Scott says.

Exercise

Exercises are considered to be eustrus or good stress, says Azaro – up to a point. “Although there is an immediate increase in cortisol with exercise, the overall impact is to improve mood and more low stress. But if we excessive exerciseStress becomes detrimental, “she says.

Azzaro recommends that you look at your overall vital stress when planning an exercise regimen. If you do not get enough sleep and struggle with high stress at work, it may not be the best time to include high-intensity exercises, Azzaro explains.

“If you find yourself getting sick more often or feel exhausted after a workout, instead of energizing, you probably train too hard for your current cortisol levels,” she says.

Meal

The foods we eat can help reduce cortisol or spies FreshbitS “Processed foods that are rich in carbohydrates and sugar can immediately help lower cortisol at the beginning, but the blood sugar jump caused by these foods can actually increase stress, inflammation and cortisol levels in the body,” Minchon says.

“Sugar is known for being one of the largest triggering cortisols, and white refined flush foods produce a similar jump in blood sugar and the effect of cortisol, so eating foods high in these ingredients can regularly lead to increased cortisol.”

Alcohol and caffeine Also, influence your cortisol levels and consuming too much of one or both affects your cortisol levels over time. Alcohol increases inflammation, which puts stress on the body, causing the production of cortisol. The withdrawal of intoxication also stimulates more cortisol in the blood, Minchene says.

“Depending on how much coffee drinks regularly and how high cortisol levels are every day a day, increasing caffeine can have almost no effect on increasing cortisol even more,” Minchemen says. “This effect can lead to the fact that you really feel more durable than more caffeine due to adrenal burning. The adrenal can only work as hard before they cannot continue to increase the production of cortisol.”

On the reverse side, eating healthy carbohydrates with complete foods, such whole grains, fresh fruits, legumes and potatoes, can provide help with cortisol management. Also, by consuming a balanced amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats It helps your body get the energy it needs to maintain blood sugar affordable and stable, which ultimately helps to keep the cortisol under control, says Minchene.

How to fix high or low cortisol levels

“It’s not super sexy,” Azaro says, “but your body tells you to rest. The dirty work to correct the cortisol imbalance is to identify what the root cause is for the imbalance and then adjust to return the cortisol to balance.”

We discussed the common causes of the cortisol imbalance above, but we dig deeper. Go past “diet” or “exercise” and ask yourself if your hormone levels are quirky due to:

• Your work
• Stress of relationships (significant others or family)
• Hustle Culture/Do Too much
• Lack of sleep
• Too much of one type of exercise (probably Hiit))
• Consumption of alcohol or caffeine
• Lack of attention or practices of stress management

It is also important to identify your Specific imbalanceHe says Ina MelamedPhysician for pharmacist and functional medicine. Ask your primary help provider whether they are hormonal tests or whether they can be targeted at an endocrine specialist. Or order an online cortisol test to take home and send to a laboratory.

This step is crucial because what works to adjust a high level of cortisol may not work to correct low cortisol levels. To really get to the root cause, “Testing, ideally, should also be for cortisol, DheaSexual hormones and even melatonin, just to see a better picture of someone’s adrenal health, “says Melamed. Your symptoms can be a product of many hormonal imbalances.

Cortisol imbalance will take a lot of work and patience. First, rest. When you feel rested, try to make a list of all possible stressors in your life – and be honest.

Then write down how you could reduce any stress. You may reduce your weekly workout from five sessions to four; You may have a serious conversation with your partner about stress levels and home responsibilities; You may ask your boss to relieve your load at work for a while (or even better, take some time to rest).

High or low cortisol levels can make life much more difficult than it should be. Fighting with constant stress, anxiety and fatigue is not easy and as always if you need support for mental health, Use the resources available for youS