Let’s talk about cortisol
What is it?
Cortisol is one of the body’s main stress hormones. It is produced in the adrenal glands. Little triangle shaped organs that sit on top of each kidney. Hormones are chemical messengers. Basically they allow for different areas of the body to communicate with one another.
Why do we make it?
It serves a purpose. From an evolutionary perspective our cortisol levels hundreds of years ago would rise mostly when our lives were threatened. I'm talking animals chasing you + such.
Threat→ rise in cortisol → glucose spike → energy to evade threat
Make sense? I know. I realize we no longer have lions, tigers + bears running around chasing us. But we do have toxins, fights with significant others, work stress, obligations + passive stressors like the dust on the floor boards starring you down (no just me? k.)
Our brains haven't quite caught up to the times, so when we feel stress (whether you realize it or not) cortisol rises. Too much cortisol is a bad thing. We do not want chronically elevated cortisol.
Cortisol has a serious relationship with melatonin. Most people have heard of melatonin, but do not realize it is a hormone (+ an antioxidant).
Cortisol + melatonin should always be inversely proportional to one another. Meaning that if cortisol is high-- melatonin cannot rise + vice versa.
So, when we don't prophylactically make sure we are mitigating stress-- too much cortisol is pumped out by our adrenal glands--maybe more importantly is it is being pumped out at the wrong time of day.
What does this mean? Sleep issues. See how important stress mitigation is?
The best way to test
Saliva. Period. It is also important to have levels through the day. generally speaking these are performed upon first awakening, lunch, dinner + just before bedtime. This demonstrates a pattern . Too much cortisol +/or cortisol at the wrong times can lead to a host of issues including:
- Glucose dysregulation
- Hormone imbalances
- “Wired + tired” feeling
- Insomnia/sleep issues
- Anxiety
Just to name a few. See why having chronic stress + not taking steps to mitigate it can cause serious issues?
How to keep cortisol in check.
While unresolved trauma-- + other things can cause serious cortisol issues (trauma is probably the most common I see) there are steps you can take to help keep your cortisol in a downward trend line through out the day!
Get sunlight first thing in the morning. This activates a gland in your brain called your pineal gland. It talks to another area of your brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Here we have receptors that basically say “hey lady its morning!”
Movement. If you are already having issues high intensity shit is NOT on your menu. But move your body in a way that makes you feel BUILT up instead of BEAT up afterwards :) When we spend energy we need to renew it (aka sleep)
Regular sleep + wake time. This helps (along with other things) set your circadian rhythm (fancy talk for sleep pattern). When we have large variances in these times it is hard for our bodies to set patterns + know what to expect.
Bedtime routine. Our little brains love pattern recognition. Start winding down for bed 30-60 minutes before you lay down. Turn down the lights. Put your phone away. 2 hours is ideal but dammit I live in a realistic world! My BT routine: sleepy time tea w/glycine, l-theanine, creatine + magnesium. Relax with pups. Blue blocked glasses. Oral hygiene. Kindle reading in bed.
Stress reduction. What does your body feel like when you are stressed? do you know when you are at a level 2,3 or 4 or are you constantly going from 0-10 + then spending the rest of the day coming down from that feeling? Know what stress feels like. Learn how to self soothe + cope.
Deal with your trauma. Y'all know I'm about that real real life. When you don't subconsciously feel safe in your body your body is fucking stressed. Hire a therapist. Read their books (the good ones). I recommend the body keeps the score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, when the body says no by Dr. Gabor Mate + love therapists online such as Nedra Tawwab + Nicole LePerra (the holistic psychologist)
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