Is Cortisol Harming Your Health?

Cortisol and Adrenalin are both hormones which are triggered in the body during times of stress. Whilst constantly high levels of cortisol can be detrimental to your health (and your waistline) it is actually an important hormone which is involved in a number of important functions including:

• Proper glucose metabolism
• Immune function
• Regulation of blood pressure
• Inflammatory response
• Insulin release for blood sugar maintenance

As you can see from the above list, stress isn’t the only reason that cortisol is secreted into the bloodstream, but it has been named ‘the stress hormone’ because it’s secreted in higher levels during the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response to stress, and is responsible for several stress-related changes in the body.

The reason cortisol is important in stressful situations is because it provides the following positive effects:

• A quick burst of energy for survival reasons
• A burst of increased immunity
• Heightened memory functions
• Helps maintain homeostasis in the body
• Lower sensitivity to pain

Unfortunately, as I covered in a previous article, today’s modern ‘stresses’ don’t require the same ‘fight or flight’ response as we needed back in our caveman days and so as a result, we tend to remain feeling stressed for longer and don’t go back to feeling relaxed during which cortisol levels would eventually normalise. As a result we could find ourselves in a state of chronic stress which has been shown to have negative effects, such as:

• Impaired cognitive performance
• Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycaemia
• Higher blood pressure
• Decreased muscle tissue
• Decreased bone density
• Suppressed thyroid function
• Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body
• Increased abdominal fat
• Increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, the development of metabolic syndrome, higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL)

To keep cortisol levels healthy and under control you can learn to relax your body with various stress management techniques including guided imagery, journaling, yoga, exercise, self hypnosis, listening to music, breathing exercises, meditation and sex.

Cortisol secretion does vary amongst individuals as people tend to be biologically ‘wired’ to react differently to stress. If you do find that you are more sensitive to stress, it’s especially important for you to learn stress management techniques and maintain a low-stress lifestyle.
Lifestyle Improvers offers all our clients a ‘non-sweat’ coaching program to assist you with managing the day to day stresses of our lives. For more information visit our website http://www.lifestyleimprovers.com/.