It's not just that today there are a lot of stress relief trainings. No wonder they say "All health problems are due to nerves." This is a common phrase that we often hear is true, but for some reason few people take it seriously. I want to tell you clearly what happens to the body when it produces a lot of the hormone cortisol. I think this will change your attitude towards your own lifestyle.
What is the hormone cortisol
In fact, cortisol is good for the body, but in certain doses. It is not only a "stress hormone" but also a "get up and do" hormone. When we are stressed, the adrenal glands release two hormones at once - cortisol and adrenaline. I will give an example of how they work in parachute jumping: When a person first jumps with a parachute, he experiences stress, and with it fear. This releases cortisol, which is also called the hormone of fear.
When a person goes in for parachuting, he no longer feels fear, but he experiences stress associated with pleasure. In this case, the hormone adrenaline is released. Both hormones are needed by the body to help it cope with stress more easily. They pose a health hazard only when excreted in large quantities or when a person is under constant stress.
How to understand that cortisol rules over us
We need cortisol to stimulate our sympathetic nervous system and get our body up and running. In healthy people, cortisol levels tend to peak in the morning immediately after waking up and tend to decline throughout the day.
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We can make it stand out more if we are involved in some activity and focus on what is happening. But in the evening, its level naturally decreases and we fall asleep.
Symptoms
Elevated cortisol levels, of course, are formed with frequent stress, anxiety or fear. The symptoms of an elevated "stress hormone" are:
- Insomnia. In the evening you cannot fall asleep, you turn and turn, your thoughts are disturbing;
- A person is always worried about something, thinks that he forgot to do something. These thoughts do not give rest;
- Memory becomes poor, concentration of attention decreases.
This all suggests that the level of cortisol does not decrease in the body. But the most unpleasant thing is the consequences of such a chronic condition.
Consequences of increasing hormone
Cortisol causes significant damage to the body:
- Blood pressure rises, heart rhythm is felt;
- Memory deteriorates;
- Nervous breakdowns, depression are formed;
- The person is in constant discontent;
- Development of headaches;
- High sugar;
- Gastrointestinal problems (constipation or diarrhea, although constipation is more common);
- Decreased immune functions, bone density;
- There is a set of excess weight and many others.
The list is very long, you can't mention everything. Essentially, cortisol is a hormone that has a "protective function". That is, it is generated when you need to be saved. Earlier, when people still went to the mammoth, cortisol quickly disappeared. Well, judge for yourself: cortisol is a hormone of action, it must be physically released. That is, as? The hormone fills the body with glucose - giving large muscles an energy resource that can be used instantly. This is how cortisol prepares the body to respond to stress.
Note that when we are in danger on the street, for example, we run two to three times faster than usual. Cortisol and adrenaline were released, which accelerated us many times over. This is physiology. Now imagine that we have experienced stress or stupid fear, but we do nothing, we do not release it. What happens? It turns out that cortisol begins to destroy the body from the inside, but it needs to go somewhere.
Hence, it turns out that it is impossible to leave the hormone in excess, you need to reduce its level.
Tips
- Get enough sleep. If the body does not get enough sleep, stress takes on a chronic form. Hence all the nervous circumstances arise;
- Sport. You don't need to run into the gym, but you need to physically “discharge” yourself. In this regard, sex works well, tones up, so to speak;
- Relax. One should allow oneself to rest from business, from children, from husbands and wives;
- Some are helped by aroma oils with lavender, citrus or tea tree;
and it is important to take B vitamins and magnesium.
Unfortunately, when I was deeply depressed, I did not get tested for cortisol. And when she took up her health, the analysis showed that the level was within normal limits. Yes, I got out of this "epic" state.
I think that what is needed is not to avoid stress (ideally), but to prevent the development of a chronic form of high cortisol. It slows down the body, negatively affects the work of the heart, and promotes the early aging of the skin. You need to be able to relax, not take responsibility "for the whole world", it is easier to deal with troubles at work and learn how to recover during a sound sleep.
