Are you a Cortisol Addict?

What is cortisol?

It is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of vital processes throughout the body, including metabolism and the immune response. It also has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress.

These effects include controlling the body’s blood sugar levels and thus regulating metabolism, acting as an anti-inflammatory, influencing memory formation, controlling salt and water balance, influencing blood pressure and helping development of the fetus

Cortisol is also known to be catabolic to the body meaning it facilitates breakdown of tissues in order to metabolize energy when someone is experiencing "fight or flight", that sympathetic part of the nervous system.

If you are the type of person that likes to be 100mph all the time, and never experience time for "rest and digest"- the parasympathetic part of your nervous system, you will not be able to activate your innate healing mechanisms. This will also negatively impact your bodies ability to have proper functioning digestion, detoxification, developing neurotransmitters, fighting infections with strong immune defense, and maintaining proper hormone balance.

Often individuals with low cortisol are those seeking HIIT, adrenaline type activities or consider themselves "type A" as this helps to raise their cortisol and is what gives them that get up and GO feeling. You may also find yourself craving coffee and sugary sweets as cortisol is closely connected with blood sugar and this can give a temporary boost in energy, ultimately leading to a big crash in energy.

In order to naturally raise cortisol levels, engaging in those parasympathetic activities is critical, as well as balancing blood sugar by eating regularly balanced meals, incorporating adaptogens like licorice, ashwagandha, rhodiola rosea, cordyceps, reishi can be helpful ways to help to maintain energy levels. Decreasing coffee consumption is also an important step since excess coffee is a stressor on the adrenals.

Getting enough sleep is fundamental and ideally getting to bed before 10:00pm to prevent that "second wind" which can happen due to elevations in cortisol. Cortisol follows a natural rhythm where it is highest in the morning and should slowly decline throughout the day, as melatonin increases.

Do you consider yourself someone who has difficulty slowing down? Do you feel balanced in your sympathetic/parasympathetic activities?