How Cortisol Affects The Body: When Fight or Flight Becomes the Norm

Cortisol is a major stress hormone in the body. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands which sit on top of your kidneys.

Cortisol production follows a curve throughout the day peaking in the morning upon waking and tapering down to its lowest level in the evening before sleep.

In addition to this curve, cortisol is produced in response to stressful events. Cortisol is part of your fight or flight response.

What is becoming more common is people staying in a chronic high-stress response without ever coming down.

This long term exposure to stress and cortisol affects the body in a profound way.

How Cortisol works and the Downside of having too much

In a rapid stress event, cortisol is your friend. Cortisol functions in 4 major ways in order for you to handle a stressful event.

Increases Blood Sugar

In response to stress, cortisol floods the system with energy in the form of sugar.

This sugar is mobilized from all stores including your proteins and fats. Cortisol also increases your appetite, especially for sugary and salty foods.

This influx of energy would be great if we were running away from a bear, but what if we are sitting at work with feelings of stress.

The downside with chronic stress is that this energy is not burned off which leads to fat deposition and insulin resistance.

Not only is there increased fat, but there is also a decrease in lean muscle as protein is broken down for energy

Increases Blood Pressure

Cortisol increases blood pressure. The direct mechanism of this is still being debated.

One theory is that cortisol increases blood pressure by directly affecting the constriction of blood vessels.

A second theory is that cortisol effects salt retention which in turn increases blood volume and pressure.

Increase Bone Breakdown

Cortisol stimulates the breakdown of bone in order to free amino acids which are then converted to energy. This leads to an increased risk of osteoporosis.

Decreases the Immune Response

Cortisol inhibits the immune system and inflammatory response. This inhibition is what lets you continue playing a sport even though you have been injured.

This is also the same explanation for why we get sick during our holidays.

After the adrenalin and cortisol wears off you feel the full brunt of your immune system reacting to whatever bug you picked up.

What High levels of Cortisol might look like in your body

Anxiety and/or depression

• Cortisol has in impact on the neurotransmitter levels in your brain that affect mood

Weight Gain

• As mentioned above, the body has excess sugar and stores this as fat. Fat deposition is seen mostly around the abdomen
• Cortisol also inhibits leptin which is the hormone responsible for telling us when we are full. Without adequate leptin, we tend to overeat
• Cortisol increases your cravings for sugar, salt, and fat

Poor sleep

• Sleep can be effected if your cortisol levels are not dipping down at night the way you need them to. This can lead to a sensation of being tired but wired. You are tired at night but your mind may be racing.
• If your cortisol fails to spike in the morning, you will find it hard to get out of bed

Hormonal Imbalances

• When cortisol is high, this can lead to an under production of sex hormones. Both rely on the same precursor therefore if production is shunted towards cortisol it can lead to a deficit of sex hormones. There can also be a decrease in ovulation.

Problems with Digestion

• Cortisol can decrease blood flow to your gut which impedes proper digestion. This is part of why we see such a correlation between stress and poor digestion.

Testing

Cortisol can be tested in blood, saliva, and urine.

My preferred method of testing is using saliva. Salivary cortisol testing can be done multiple times throughout the day.

A four-point test would give us the most accurate information regarding your cortisol curve. This would be a kit I send you home with.

I also might include an adrenal panel looking at other stress hormones depending on your specific case.

5 actions steps to restore cortisol balance

1. Resistance training. Resistance training helps increase levels of DHEA which is the anti-stress hormone that balances out cortisol
2. Eat more protein. Protein will help smooth out your blood sugar levels so that you don’t get so many highs and lows
3. Get some sleep. Develop a routine to help yourself calm down before bed. I will be talking about this more in future posts
4. Check out my blog about meditation apps http://sheiladyernd.com/my-top-4-mindfulness-apps/ If meditation sounds too daunting for you, take time to deepen your breath throughout the day. Pay attention to how it feels.
5. Time in Nature. This has been proven to reduce levels of perceived stress

If reading this article has completely stressed you out, feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Use the comment section below, or reach me by email dr.sheila@sheiladyernd.com