We all experience stress. In fact, we’re supposed to. Our body is an adaptive wonder, and has evolved to not only deal with stress, but use it as a tool to grow. As we wrote about last month, not all stress is bad for us, and there’s evidence to suggest that the right amount, with the right beliefs, can make us stronger, smarter and happier.
But what about when it is bad? What if we’re under more stress than we need, and more often than we’d like? Let’s find out.
Stresso-Sapiens
After a whole lot of evolution, our hormones and neurotransmitters have become finely tuned to react to stress—to choose “fight or flight” as necessary.
That’s a wonderful evolutionary advantage. Back in our cave-person days, we had to deal with the occasional stressor like a war, or an attack by a lion. At those times, being able to route all our resources in an instant to the “run-away-as-fast-as-you-can” muscles was pretty handy.
But the key message here is occasional. We weren’t chased by lions all the time. A lot of the time we simply went on with our day. We lived together in close-knit groups, and ate food that we gathered or caught. We slept when the sun went to bed and woke up when the light came back out. Stressors were spaced out and we had time to recuperate in between.
But now? Now, many of us are chronically and constantly stressed by our jobs, our mortgages, the news, our food, the environment – you name it. We’re experiencing sustained stress over months and even years. That’s not what our bodies where designed to deal with.
Cortisol and You
One of the hormones we produce when we’re stressed is cortisol. This little hormone does a lot of wonderful things to allow us to deal with a stressful situation. It dumps sugar into the blood for energy, it constricts the arteries and increases our heart rate, and it also stimulates the immune system and decreases inflammation.
When we are chronically stressed, though, we can wear out our body’s ability to produce cortisol. Decreased cortisol means we have decreased energy, decreased blood flow and increased inflammation.
And guess what that leads to? Chronic pain and chronic fatigue.
The chronic pain and fatigue makes us unhappy, and less likely to do the things that reduce stress, like exercise and socialize. Which makes us even more stressed.
That’s a nasty cycle. So what to do?
The first step is to find out how your stress glands are doing. Assessing your cortisol levels can be easily and effectively done using a salivary hormone test. Four easy samples throughout the day gives a very good picture of how well, or not well your stress response is functioning.
And what do you if your adrenals are not working like they should?
- Sleep. Rest allows your body to heal and recharge naturally, allowing your adrenal glands to rebalance.
- Cut caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the secretion of cortisol. Trying to do so when your adrenals are worn out just makes things worse.
- Yoga and mediation. Gentle stretching and conscious breathing help improve cortisol levels and adrenal function.
- Exercise. There’s a mountain of evidence that exercise reduces stress. It really is irrefutable. If your inflammation is high, don’t get crazy–you don’t need to do any triathlons or sprinting. Just a walk in nature will change your physiology. It’s that easy.
- Supplement. There are many vitamins and herbal medicines that work wonders for tired adrenals. Intravenous B vitamins and amino acids are particularly beneficial. Your naturopathic doctor can tell you which ones are right for you.
If you’re interested in measuring your stress response, and finding a customized supplement and treatment plan for your body, contact the clinic at 705-444-5331.