Cortisol: The Stress Hormone

Cortisol: The Stress Hormone

Under stress, our adrenals release cortisol, the stress hormone that activates the sympathetic nervous system (“flight or fight”). Your heart rate increases, blood pressure rises, your immune system and digestion both slow to a crawl. As cortisol goes up, sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone go down. If stress is short-lived, it takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days to return to normal. But if stress continues for the long term, we lose our ability to compensate.
These are a few results of constant or too much cortisol:
• Releases glycogen into blood stream as sugar and drives up blood sugar. Over time, this contributes to insulin resistance.
• Belly fat retention
• Cortisol is a catabolic hormone, meaning it breaks things down. Catabolism is important for bone turnover, but too much breaks it down too quickly. This can lead to loss of bone density.
• Stress increases thyroid hormone binding globulin which binds to melatonin, causing insomnia.
• Cortisol decreases immune response causing more frequent cold and infections.
• Cortisol upregulates interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor alpha which increase inflammation, causing a general inflammation response. Many diseases result from chronic inflammation (cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis to name a few).
• Conversion of thyroid hormone T4  T3 (useable form) slows, resulting in fatigue.
• Cortisol activates histamines which open the tight junctions of the gut lining. Over time this can lead to leaky gut syndrome.
• As cortisol levels increase, DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone, another hormone made in the adrenals) goes down. This can lead to depression, short-term memory loss, and sleep disturbance.
How can we support our adrenals and regulate our stress response?
• Learn relaxation techniques and mindfulness (see “Nervous Tension and Anxiety” OneSheet).
• Stay away stimulants for a quick energy burst, no matter how tempting. They stress out adrenals. Similarly, alcohol and sugar have rebound effects which make fatigue worse.
• Use herbs to modulate stress response. “Adaptogens” lower cortisol and help regulate the stress response. Some good ones are: ashwaganda, tulsi basil, astragalus, schisandra berries, licorice, and cordyceps mushrooms. Many of these have been clinically shown to lower cortisol. These are included in formulas like “Serene Sister”.
• Exercise gently. Hard work outs can actually add stress and increase cortisol.
• Sleep and sleep environment is important. Create a cold, dark cave to sleep in. Be consistent with timing and develop rituals that let you wind down.
• Supplements: DHEA (5-10 mg/day), L-theanine (100-200 mg 2-3 times a day), B-vitamins (depleted by stress), magnesium/calcium.
Stress is part of life. But too much will affect our health. Don’t let it be the boss of you.

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