If you are like most highway drivers, you’ve got probably seen a automotive next to you suddenly swerve into your lane, forcing you to swerve quickly to avoid being hit. In addition to your heart pounding and your respiratory increasing, your muscles may tense up and you might begin to sweat.
This is known as the “fight or flight” response, which has evolved over many centuries as a response to stressful situations. It works like this: When threatened, our body releases a hormone called cortisol, which keeps us on high alert. When the threat is over, our cortisol levels drop.
Although cortisol can be accountable for our circadian rhythm and partly influences how much energy we’ve throughout the day, it’s also known as the “stress hormone” since it regulates the body’s response to acute stressors.
“Cortisol is one of the steroids produced by the adrenal gland,” says Irina Bancos, MD, associate professor of medication within the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Nutrition and principal investigator within the Mayo Clinic’s Adrenal Lab. “Stress causes the pituitary gland to produce larger amounts of ACTH (corticotropin), which travels to the adrenal glands and tells them that cortisol needs to be produced.”
These stressors might be environmental, similar to a possible automotive accident, or anticipatory in nature, says Dr. Jeanette M. Bennett, associate professor of psychology on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, similar to preparing for a public speaking event or a difficult conversation with a boss or spouse.
“There is usually a sweet spot,” she says of cortisol levels within the body, “a range that is healthy or helps our body function successfully.”
The problem is when cortisol levels are consistently too high, which may increase the chance of quite a few health problems, including hypertension, high heart rate and high blood sugar levels, Bennett says. You may feel drained, sleep poorly, get sick more often and experience cognitive changes similar to increased forgetfulness. Chronic stress is usually the perpetrator.
“In the past, stressors were life-or-death situations, like running from a tiger or lion or fighting with another tribe,” says Bennett. “But today, our bodies can still have the same biological response to everyday stressors. We need to work to mitigate and minimize that biological stress response, because in most cases it is not necessary to deal with the situation we find ourselves in.”
How to lower cortisol
Cortisol levels might be checked through blood, urine and saliva tests.
If your levels are elevated, it is best to first rule out whether you may have an adrenal gland tumor that produces cortisol, Bancos says. These tumors might be benign or malignant and contribute to Cushing’s syndrome, a metabolic disorder that could cause weight gain, a moon face, hypertension, thirst and increased urination.
“If your cortisol is high due to lifestyle factors,” says Melissa Groves Azzaro, RDN, LD, of The hormone dietician“Then you not only should work on the explanation for your stress, but additionally [on] Managing your response to emphasize. I feel when people take into consideration stress, they have an inclination to deal with external sources of stress like work, family, and funds, but not a lot on the interior sources that may contribute just as much to adrenal dysfunction.”
1. Pay attention to what and while you eat
In addition to a balanced weight loss program, Azzaro encourages her clients to take care of healthy eating habits.
“Skipping meals or not eating for too long can put stress on the body,” she says. “Riding the ‘blood sugar roller coaster’ all day by restricting and then overeating is stressful on the body. It’s important to limit caffeine consumption to no more than 200 milligrams per day and not to consume caffeine after midday, but other things we ‘consume’ like watching the news or browsing social media before bed can also put stress on the adrenal glands and lead to higher cortisol production. Alcohol can also contribute to stress and inflammation in the body.”
2. Make sure you get enough sleep and exercise
Both Bennett and Azzaro emphasize the importance of standard good sleep and exercise.
Studies have shown that poor sleep quality can result in higher stress levels, making it difficult to address day by day stressors and regulate emotions.
Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep an evening, advises Bennett. Sleep habits are also necessary. These include going to bed and waking up at the identical time every day, sleeping in a quiet, dark and funky room, removing devices from the bedroom and taking a break from them before bed, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol before bed, in line with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, physical exertion also helps reduce stress levels, stabilizes mood, improves sleep, and increases self-esteem.
While the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle-building exercise spread over every week, Bennett says that will not be an option for people just beginning to exercise.
“Anything that gets your body moving is good,” she says. “That could be walking, yoga, maybe a bike ride, or parking further away from the store or work and walking the parking lot.”
For people who find themselves already physically lively and find themselves in high-stress situations, “you need to add other forms of stress management, such as meditation or expressive writing,” she advises, “seeking out a therapist or finding someone you can talk to about the things you’re struggling with and things that might be triggering the anxiety.”
3. Change your pondering
Bennett says that in some cases, finding ways to address stress cognitively can assist people gain control over the situations that cause them anxiety and reduce the impact of those stressors on them.
“Find purpose,” she says. “If you’ve put yourself in a situation that might be overwhelming or unbearable, ask yourself what motivated you to get into that situation in the first place. This should help you refocus on the why or purpose for you when you originally got involved or decided to do X, Y, Z. If you can regain control of the situation, you can control your emotional or psychological response to it, even if you can’t control the situation or the outcome. It might help calm your body and mind.”
4. Take care of yourself
Azzaro says that along with breaking bad habits that contribute to day by day stress, we must always also deal with things “that fulfill us.”
“It’s different for everyone,” she says, “but some ideas include reading for pleasure, music, gardening, learning a new skill and spending time with the people we love. Increasing the levels of oxytocin we produce when we hug the people we love, including our pets, is a quick trick to lower cortisol and reduce stress overall.”
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