Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, and that may bring negative connotations to mind. However, cortisol is not all bad. It plays an important role in body functions, aside from being part of a stress response. When cortisol is ever-present due to persistent and chronic stress, it causes damaging health problems.
Let’s take a look at how cortisol works and when stress impacts your health.
What Does Cortisol Do?
Cortisol helps in regulating blood pressure, producing glucose for metabolism, keeping inflammation down, controlling your sleep-wake cycle, formulating memory, and many other essential automatic behaviors.
When you’re under threat, whether real or perceived, the hypothalamus in the brain sends signals to the body. Then, the adrenal gland releases cortisol, along with adrenaline as part of the body’s fight or flight response. In response to these two hormones, your heart rate increases, your muscles tense up, your blood pressure elevates, and your focus sharpens.
Cortisol also helps formulate memory based on that stressful situation, which you will remember so that you know what to do the next time it happens. When the stress-inducing trigger has passed, and the mind and body relax, cortisol levels return to normal. This dissipation process is disrupted and worsened if another stress-inducing incident, circumstance or thought occurs before cortisol has returned to pre-stress levels.
The process of dissipating elevated cortisol levels can be sped up by engaging in vigorous physical activity, where possible.
What Causes a Cortisol Imbalance?
Your body can cause cortisol levels to rise and fall during the day. For example, it dips at nighttime to allow you to sleep and goes back to normal when you wake up. Some factors, though, can throw cortisol off balance, such as the following:
Pituitary Gland Issues
The pituitary gland is known as the master gland because it controls the release of other hormones, including cortisol. Pituitary conditions like hyperpituitarism, benign pituitary tumors, and cancerous tumors can increase cortisol levels.
Circulating Estrogen
During pregnancy or when you’re undergoing estrogen therapy, you will have higher levels of circulating estrogen. That can lead to higher cortisol levels in your blood.
Medication
Some medications have side effects that include triggering increased levels of cortisol. Corticosteroid prescriptions for asthma, cancer, and arthritis can increase cortisol production.
The Negative Effects of Stress On Your Body
When you feel fatigued, either mentally or physically, your body’s default behavior is to release stress hormones, to provide a temporary energy boost. If you’re experiencing chronic stress, your body is on constant high-alert, making you feel constantly fatigued. Cortisol release then becomes almost constant instead of being an occasional response.
Cortisol makes your blood pressure increase during the stress response, which is okay if it is not a regular occurrence. However, constant high blood pressure is not good for the body because it can damage the blood vessels and cause a buildup of plaque in the arteries. That increases your risk of heart attack or stroke.
As your body responds to stress, it shuts down other functions, such as your digestive system. That’s why you may experience indigestion, constipation, bloating, or diarrhea. Worse, you may develop an ulcer, colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome.
Stress can also make you gain unwanted weight and become obese if you don’t control it. This is because one function of cortisol is to encourage fat storage as part of the stress response.
Constant stress that increases cortisol can suppress your immune system. With compromised immunity, you’ll be more vulnerable to colds and other illnesses, such as food allergies and autoimmune diseases.
What You Can Do to Keep Cortisol Balanced
With the important role it plays to keep your overall well-being, you must try to keep your cortisol levels balanced. Here are natural ways to help achieve that aim:
Respond to Stress the Right Way
Stress is a normal part of life, and you can’t control everything. What you can do is to learn how to respond to stress the right way so that you can minimize its impact on your life. Take time to practice self-care.
Practice Breathing Exercises
Practice deep breathing exercises, which will help you relax and therefore reduce your stress. You can also meditate, do yoga, or get a massage, which can all help reduce high cortisol levels.
Write a Journal
Get a journal and write your thoughts and feelings. It will help you release your stress, understand your feelings more clearly, and take back control of your emotions in the face of future stress triggers.
Listen to Music
Listen to music that makes you feel good and reduce your stress and anxiety. Certain types of music, such as classical and instrumental, can also help increase the release of happy hormones.
Improve Your Lifestyle
Your lifestyle has much to do with how you deal with stress in your life. Don’t forget to eat healthy foods and be physically active.
Cortisol is called the stress hormone because it’s an essential element of your body’s stress response. The body is resilient and can bounce back from high and low cortisol levels, but chronic stress can cause a dangerous imbalance. Follow the above suggestions to get your cortisol levels under control.
