If you are regularly exposed to the online world of wellness, chances are you have seen the posts warning against high cortisol levels and what that can mean for your health. While these posts have recently gained traction on social media, cortisol is a steroid hormone that physicians and humans have kept their eye on for quite some time now.
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is known to help regulate stress in the body and support other aspects of one’s health. Extremely high or low cortisol levels can be disconcerting and cause a number of unwelcome setbacks. In order to better understand what these posts on social media are presenting, let us explore what cortisol is and how you can better understand its status in your own body.
How Cortisol Works in the Human Body and Its Connection to Stress
Cortisol is a true team player within the human body. Let’s first dive into its connection to our long-term enemy, stress.
When your body is experiencing a stress response, (regardless if its prolonged, acute, or chronic) it releases cortisol. This is so that your body can be on high alert in moments of need. At this time, the cortisol will also promote the release of glucose in the form of energy that might be needed in those moments of stress as well.
Cortisol is most commonly linked to stress, but it actually impacts almost every organ and sector of the human body. Cortisol regulates your body’s conversion of sugar to energy, regulates your blood pressure, regulates inflammation levels, and impacts your sleep health. It is known that cortisol levels tend to be highest when a person first awakes and lowest right before bed, showing the link between this hormone’s levels and a person’s internal circadian rhythm.
Your body works hard to continuously keep an eye on your cortisol levels to ensure these responsibilities are being successfully completed. However, sometimes one’s cortisol levels can become unbalanced and cause an array of issues due to the connection of cortisol with so many parts of the human body.
Let’s Discuss: Symptoms and Potential Causes of High Cortisol Levels
So what does high cortisol look like and what are its potential setbacks?
Symptoms of high cortisol can include, but are not limited to, the following:
-
Weight gain, specifically in the face and midsection
-
Excessive hair growth
-
Brittle bones and weakened muscles
-
Fatigue or chronic brain fog
-
Digestive complications i.e. bloating, indigestion, and/or sensitivities to food
-
Increase in irritability or anxiety
All of these complications are less than ideal, which is why it is crucial that we understand how we might have gotten to this point in the first place.
Chronic stress is one of the biggest perpetrators of high cortisol. When we are constantly pushing our bodies into a state of fight or flight, it feels the need to also continue to exert cortisol. This prolonged state of stress can be the root cause of many of the issues above as well. For example, when high cortisol and high stress starts to create a vicious cycle within the body, our digestive system can start to fail because of its connection to our mental state. We must work hard to nurture the many connections within our bodies.
Here are some other potential factors that could be contributing to high cortisol:
-
Poor sleep over a long period of time
-
An unhealthy diet filled with processed sugars and fats
-
Certain medications
-
An inability to rest and cause burnout
High cortisol levels can also be an indicator of another underlying health condition or could be caused by certain medication. It is important to not self-diagnose and instead reach out to a licensed physician about your concerns for guidance.
The Secret to Balancing Out High Cortisol Levels and Maintaining a Strong Hold On One’s Cortisol
First and foremost, we must work hard to keep our stress levels at bay. With the many responsibilities and tasks we get handed, it can feel overwhelming trying to keep up. However, we must find ways to make our lifestyle more approachable and less stressful to avoid triggering the many issues that come with chronic stress (including the potential for high cortisol).
A lack of time is one of the biggest issues that come into play and that can cause stress. Try to implement proactive activities into your routine to avoid getting behind. Planning ahead, meal prepping, and scheduling out home chores are all great ways to get your time back. Also try and make time for stress-reducing activities such as meditating, yoga, and journaling.
We also recommend keeping a probiotic supplement for bloating in your routine due to the impact of stress and high cortisol on one’s digestive tract. Probiotic Renu is a great bloating supplement due to the bifido and lacto probiotic cultures found within the supplement. A probiotic is essential because it can help to protect gut permeability and your gut microbiome–both of which play a key role in your mental state and digestive abilities.
The food you consume is also a huge contributor to how you might be feeling. A well-balanced diet that prioritizes fiber, clean macronutrients, and an array of essential nutrients will help you to feel more energized, mentally clear, and ready to take on the day. Do not ignore the power of a good, hearty meal.
Lastly, we must work hard to avoid losing sight of the tried and true health activities of our daily lives. Getting quality sleep, exercising, and drinking water are all crucial activities that will be a deciding factor in how you feel. Without these pillars to success, we will be working overtime to successfully combat health complications because odds are the absence of these rituals are only negatively impacting us.
The symptoms that accompany issues like high cortisol can be discouraging, but with the right support and attention to lifestyle, we can combat the many complications that might arise.