He hung over the bridge railings as the flood waters wedged the car, nose down, into the concrete overpass
A woman’s anguished screams echoed through the evening air. “Help me, help me, please save my baby, she’s in the back.”
Thinking nothing of his safety, Liam Stych clambered down and pulled the three-year-old through a partially open window, flinging her to his pregnant partner who was on the bridge.
He pulled ratchet straps from his work truck and busted out the back window. He single-handedly strapped the car to the bridge so it wouldn’t get pulled into the powerful undertow. Once it was secure, he encouraged the woman to climb out the back window. Together, they jumped into the 5-foot-deep river and made their way to the shore.
Heroism at its finest.
This primal instinct to rush into a dangerous situation to perform miraculous feats of strength, save babies from burning buildings, or lift vehicles off the victim pinned beneath has a name. It’s called hysterical strength.
Faced with a life-or-death situation, fight-or-flight kicks in, releasing cortisol and adrenaline. Our heart rate rises, our blood pressure goes up, glucose is released from the liver, our intestines slow down, our muscles tense up, and our blood flow is directed to our vital organs. Ready, you leap into action to achieve the impossible.
In these critical moments, this primal, fight-or-flight response is exactly what’s needed.
However, many of us are stuck in a fight-or-flight response due to everyday stressors that our body and brain perceive as critical.
- Growing up in a traumatically stressful home
- Facing a difficult diagnosis for you or a loved one
- Food allergies, sensitivities, or physical injuries
- Bullying at work or school
- Financial woes
- Raising kids while caring for elderly parents
- Long work hours
- Difficult relationships
- Divorce
- Environmental toxicities
- Natural disasters and wars
- Doom-scrolling through pages of bad news
And that doesn’t include all the “good” stressors, like a new job, marriage, home, or baby.
This constant state of “being on” causes us to get caught in “fight or flight”, or sympathetic mode. This increases our cortisol and exhausts our adrenal glands.
Can Stress Increase Cortisol?
Our adrenal glands (a pair of tiny but mighty organs perched on top of our kidneys) play a crucial role in our body’s response to stress, primarily through the production of cortisol, often called the stress hormone.
Our adrenal glands consist of two parts. The outer adrenal cortex produces the steroid hormones cortisol, aldosterone (which helps us regulate our sodium levels), and androgens (male sex hormones). The inner adrenal medulla produces adrenaline (epinephrine) and noradrenaline (norepinephrine), which are both hormones and neurotransmitters.
When we experience an episode of low blood sugar or stress, a gland in our brain called the hypothalamus releases a hormone that stimulates our pituitary gland (a pea-sized gland at the base of our brain) to release ACTH, which tells our adrenal glands to release cortisol.
A feedback loop tells our hypothalamus and pituitary glands when our cortisol levels are too high. Then it commands our adrenal glands to stop releasing cortisol.
When we are constantly stressed out, that feedback loop gets worn out or desensitized and doesn’t know when to quit overproducing cortisol.
Factors Influencing Our Cortisol Levels
Stress isn’t the only thing that impacts our cortisol levels.
Time of Day
Healthy cortisol levels start rising early in the morning. They peak at around lunch time and descend through the evening. They are at their lowest when it’s time to go to bed. If you’re struggling to fall asleep at bedtime and can’t get out of bed in the morning, it might be because that pattern is flipped. When you’re experiencing adrenal fatigue, cortisol levels can be very high or very low first thing in the morning.
Exercise
Because intense physical exercise can temporarily raise cortisol levels, it’s better to work with our body and do this in the morning when our cortisol is already supposed to be at its peak. Eat some easily digested protein and complex carbohydrates to fuel the activity. (Exercising without fuel easily stresses the body out.) When your cortisol levels are lower later in the day engage in light exercises, like a gentle walk or stretching. (Please note that if you experience high levels of fatigue, intense physical activity may not be suitable until you fully recover.)
Sleep Patterns
Poor or irregular sleep can disrupt cortisol production by interrupting our circadian rhythm.
Nutrition
Caffeine increases our cortisol levels, helping us to feel more awake. However, in the long run, persistently drinking caffeine to keep us awake keeps our cortisol levels artificially elevated and interferes with our sleep. (Imagine what multiple energy drinks do to our cortisol!) High-sugar diets also raise our cortisol levels.
Medical Conditions
Cushing Syndrome is a rare hormonal disorder that happens when the patient is exposed to too much cortisol. Addison’s Disease happens when the adrenal glands don’t produce enough cortisol or aldosterone.
Medications
Some medications, especially corticosteroids can reduce how much cortisol our adrenal glands produce. This is why a doctor will taper their patients off these drugs. It takes a little while for their adrenal glands to start producing cortisol again.
Why Are Our Adrenals Important for Our Overall Well-being?
When we’re constantly under stress and our adrenal glands work overtime, they can get worn out. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, functional and naturopathic medicine, this is recognized as adrenal fatigue or the inability of our adrenal glands to produce enough hormones, especially cortisol.
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue include:
- Chronic fatigue, muscle weakness, weight loss or gain, low blood pressure, and cravings for salty foods
- Inability to recover from illness or injury
- Mood disturbances like depression, irritation, difficulty concentrating, and feeling overwhelmed. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, lack of trust, fears of the unknown, worry, and anxiety are the most common emotions associated with adrenal fatigue.
- Insomnia and poor sleep
The Correlation Between Stress, Cortisol, and Weight Gain
As I mentioned earlier in this article, prolonged exposure to stress increases our cortisol levels. One of the unwanted consequences of perpetually high cortisol can be weight gain.
Cortisol can make you hungry by interacting with other hormones (insulin and ghrelin) which affect hunger and satiety levels. This causes us to eat more than we need. It often triggers cravings for high-calorie, sugary, and fatty foods. If you’ve ever found yourself reaching for chocolate, cookies, or a latte to get you through high-stress moments, this is why. They don’t call it stress-eating for no reason.
Compounding the problem, elevated cortisol levels can slow down our metabolism making it harder for our body to burn calories efficiently. We fall into the trap of eating fewer calories to accommodate for the fact that we aren’t burning calories efficiently. When our body doesn’t have enough calories, it slows down our metabolism even more to make sure it has enough energy to get through the day.
Cortisol encourages the accumulation of abdominal fat and a deeper, internal fat known as visceral fat, which surrounds our vital organs. This type of fat is linked to an increased risk of metabolic issues, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It also raises our inflammation.
Finally, chronically high cortisol levels can lead to insulin resistance, where the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin. This can result in higher blood sugar levels and increased fat storage.
How to Support the Adrenals Naturally to Reduce Stress and Improve Cortisol Levels
Supplements
A number of natural herbal supplements support adrenal health. Generally referred to as “adaptogens” they support the adrenal, hypothalamus, and pituitary glands, improving stress resilience. Licorice solid extract, ashwagandha, Schisandra berry, Rhodiola, ginseng, and bacopa all confer a variety of benefits. Licorice, Schisandra, and Rhodiola can be more stimulating, ashwagandha can be more balancing, and ginseng and bacopa tend to be more relaxing. All of these have the potential to affect blood pressure, so speak to a knowledgeable practitioner to find out which one is the right fit for you.
Our adrenal glands contain massive stores of vitamin C. When we’re under persistent levels of stress it’s easy to deplete our vitamin C, vitamin B, and magnesium. Sometimes, higher doses of vitamin C (4g per day, up to bowel tolerance), almost miraculously improves our ability to cope with stress.
Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
Adrenal support is all about alleviating stress. Practices such as meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises can help reduce stress and lower cortisol levels. These techniques promote relaxation and improve emotional well-being. Don’t get hung up on more traditional methods of mindfulness and relaxation either. If it fills your emotional bucket to get out into nature, volunteer with animals at a local shelter, or get some acupuncture – do those things. The guiding principle is to do activities that don’t raise your cortisol levels – like skydiving, endurance running, or intense bodybuilding.
Regular Physical Activity
Engaging in physical activity is a powerful method for handling stress and controlling cortisol levels. It also aids in calorie burning, boosts metabolism, and decreases visceral fat. Nevertheless, as previously noted, it’s crucial to align your exercise with your cortisol rhythms (more intense workouts in the morning and lighter ones later) and to be cautious; vigorous exercise while experiencing adrenal fatigue may exacerbate the condition. If you think you might have adrenal fatigue, either commit to a season of rest or start by adding mild exercises to your regimen instead of overexerting yourself.
Balanced Diet
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the foods that support adrenal health are typically rich in vitamin C, D, K, biotin, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Also, foods that are black and naturally salty (think olives). (If you have compromised kidney function, have renal disease, or have low blood pressure, please check with your health care provider before supplementing with or eating foods rich in these nutrients.) Click here for a list of foods naturally high in these nutrients.
Generally speaking, a diet rich in whole foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats, can help manage weight and reduce stress-related eating. Limiting caffeine and sugar intake can also help stabilize cortisol levels.
Eat small meals often throughout the day to ensure you get enough calories and keep your blood sugar stable.
Adequate Sleep
Quality sleep is crucial for regulating cortisol production and maintaining a healthy weight. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to support overall health and stress management. Establish a consistent sleep-wake schedule, create a healthy sleep environment (considering light, temperature, and comfort), limit exposure to blue light from screens during the evening, and minimize interruptions (from things like pets.)
Social Support
Building a strong network of friends, family members, support groups, or therapy providers, can provide a sense of emotional security and reduce feelings of stress. A support system allows us to share our thoughts and feelings with others, receive valuable feedback and advice, and feel connected to a community of people who care about our well-being. This network can offer comfort during difficult times, provide a sense of belonging, and create a safe space for us to express our emotions and seek support. By nurturing these relationships and fostering positive connections, we can build a strong foundation of support that helps us navigate life’s challenges with greater resilience and emotional stability.
Time Management
By organizing tasks and setting realistic goals, we can effectively manage our time and workload, thus reducing stress and preventing the feeling of being overwhelmed. This can be achieved through creating a to-do list, prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance, breaking down larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and setting specific and achievable goals. By taking these steps, we can create a clear plan of action, stay focused, and maintain a sense of control over our responsibilities, ultimately leading to increased productivity and a more positive mindset.
However, it’s also important to remember that sometimes, we simply have too much on our plates and no amount of reorganization will solve the problem. Take a moment to re-evaluate your responsibilities and figure out if you can defer it, delegate it, or delete it from your to-do list.
Take A Vacation to Reduce Stress and Cortisol
Money.com published an article in July, 2024 reporting that 62% of workers did not use all their vacation time, allowing at least a third of it to go to waste. Avoiding your vacation can lead to burnout, high blood pressure, and reduced productivity.
As an introvert, I need copious hours of unplugged alone time to make up for the demands of networking and a career that has me interacting with people a lot. We have a couple of trips that we frequently take with friends and I often come home exhausted from all the social interaction. Know yourself, make time to take trips, or do stay-cations that fill your cup.
Take your holiday and take a break from the norm, after all a change is as good as a rest.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
Anne Lamott, American Novelist
Conclusion
Understanding the intricate relationship between cortisol, stress, and weight gain is crucial for managing both physical and mental health. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can significantly impact appetite, metabolism, and fat storage, leading to unwanted weight gain and associated health risks. By recognizing these connections, we can take proactive steps to manage stress and maintain a healthy weight.
Incorporating mindfulness practices, regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep into daily routines can help regulate cortisol levels and promote overall well-being. Additionally, fostering strong social connections, effective time management, and regular breaks can further alleviate stress and support a healthier lifestyle.
Ultimately, by addressing the root causes of stress and implementing these strategies, we can achieve a balanced and healthier life, reducing the impact of stress on our weight and overall health. Embracing these changes not only enhances physical health but also contributes to improved mental and emotional resilience, paving the way for a more fulfilling and stress-free life.
You are not alone in this journey. Support is always available to you. If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, please don’t hesitate to reach out for a chat. Together, we can work towards helping you regain your sense of well-being.