The adrenal glands are little powerhouses. They’re like your body’s own superheroes, working behind the scenes to keep things balanced and help you deal with stress.

They produce hormones that do a host of important things. For example, they play a big role in keeping your blood pressure in check. They’re like the body’s natural pressure regulators! However, that’s not all. They’re also responsible for making the hormones that are crucial for reproduction.

As for stress, these glands are your partners in crime when it comes to the fight-or-flight response. They make hormones like adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, and aldosterone that help you react quickly and effectively when things get intense. Continue reading →

How do our bodies recognize and react to a threat? How is it possible that we seem to perform more efficiently when under time pressure? The answer is simple, a hormone called cortisol.

Cortisol primes our bodies to respond to stress by raising our blood pressure and blood sugar, while suppressing physiological functions that are deemed unnecessary to respond to stress, such as the immune system and the digestive system. Once the threat is gone, cortisol levels go down, and the rest of our body goes back to normal. This is all how it should work.

Changes in our cortisol levels are normal throughout the day. However, our fast-paced lifestyle makes it difficult for cortisol levels to go down. They can remain elevated all day! Constantly being exposed to stressful situations causes chronic stress, which is why our cortisol levels may always be elevated. Continue reading →