Who doesn’t experience stress today? Too much stress in your daily life will affect your cortisol levels and can exhaust other hormones resulting in your becoming hormone imbalanced.
Stress will also weaken the immune system, making it possible to get sick more often.
If you don’t manage the stress in your life, it will be difficult to keep your hormones balanced. Most of us have a great deal of financial, health and family issues to deal with…and of course there is also another topic… Are you sleeping enough hours to wake up rested?
Sleep is priceless and essential to your survival and it is during sleep that your body eliminates most poisons.
Experiencing too much stress, excessive worrying and anxiety, poor health symptoms and lack of exercise are some of the major reasons why you may not sleep well and have high levels of cortisol.
What about exercise?
Exercise is essential when trying to minimize your symptoms of adrenal gland problems and excessive amounts of stress.
When you exercise, you will raise your production of serotonin and dopamine which will improve depression, anxiety symptoms, reduce stress and increase your ability to sleep at night.
Chronic stress, anxiety and constant elevated levels of this steroid hormone can also contribute to high blood pressure, other heart problems and heartburn symptoms.
When you have a stressful life and work an exhausting number of hours, your adrenal glands or as some people call it the (adrenaline glands) will release cortisol into the body. When cortisol floods your system repeatedly, you will feel more energized, stimulated and more able to carry on your work duties.
However, too much cortisol will also make you feel more irritable, give you temporary increased energy levels, suppress your immune system, make you age faster, give you more wrinkles, weaker memory, confused brain plus feelings of anger and rage.
Overworking your adrenal glands and producing too much cortisol can bring you major illnesses, food cravings, greater appetite, fat concentration around several organs, destruction of your brain cells and chronic fatigue in the long run.
Excessive levels of cortisol will also flood your cells with glucose – also called insulin, giving you a sugar rush that will last for 20 to 30 minutes.
When sugar floods your blood stream, adrenaline will also be released and available which will stimulate the creation of cortisol. When your body gets used to this glucose rush, you will be eating a lot more sweets and not so healthy snacks for extra energy.
This will cause food cravings like eating ice cream, other sweets, sodas, candy bars and many other snacks which can lead to weight gain or perhaps obesity and weakened immune system.
With intense stress, your adrenal glands may become tired and, you could become cortisol deficient and your progesterone levels will get quite low, causing you to have hormone imbalance symptoms.
Men and women that live into their late 90’s or 100’s, when measured, they have no symptoms of adrenal gland problems plus they have low levels of insulin and cortisol.
People that have chronic stress, high levels of cortisol and other stress hormones could have several of the following symptoms:
• 1- Hormone imbalance
• 2- Trouble sleeping a restful night, very nervous
• 3- Osteoporosis, reduced bone density, fibromyalgia and arthritis
• 4- Blood sugar imbalances
• 5- Accelerated aging process with more wrinkled and dry skin
• 6- Decreased mental capability because so many brain cells get damaged or killed because of elevated stress hormones.
• 7- Poor memory and perhaps Alzheimer’s disease.
• 8- Weak immune system, illnesses like diabetes for example
• 9- Signs of depression, anxiety symptoms and fatigue
• 10- Anxiety attacks or panic attacks
• 11- Weight gain, increased fat around the abdominal area and obesity
• 12- High blood pressure, heart palpitations and heart disease
• 13- Frequent headaches and migraines
• 14- Allergies, difficulty breathing (shortness of breath) and asthma
• 15- Infertility and menstrual periods without ovulation
• 16- Exaggerated concerns about life and health, incapable of relaxing and inability to think positively
• 17- Diminished thyroid function and overworked adrenal glands
• 18- Low sex drive and erectile dysfunction
Another hormone that gets set free when you experience stress is called prolactin. This hormone is responsible for the encouragement of the breasts to produce milk.
When you have high levels of prolactin, it is very likely that your progesterone levels will be low – and this may mean that you may have trouble getting pregnant.
Elevated prolactin levels can also be caused by hypothyroidism – this means low thyroid or underactive thyroid. Certain antidepressants and antipsychotic drugs can also give you high levels of prolactin.
To use natural progesterone supplementation is recommended because progesterone will stop the deliverance of prolactin by your pituitary.
It is also important that you control your stress levels…so you can control your stress hormones or your prolactin. Stress needs to be under control for you to regain your balance and your health.
To reduce stress and your cortisol levels, consider making the following changes:
• 1- Eat a balanced diet that include lots of organic vegetables or vegetables from your own garden, lots of fresh fruits and plenty of whole grains. Most fiber is good for you and your digestive system.
If you can, eat hormone-free and grass fed meat and chicken for better taste and health. Avoid processed foods and fast food, it contains a great deal of additives, preservatives and other chemicals that are not good for you.
• 2- Take high quality multiple vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids to improve every organ and system in your body. These supplements will boost your immune system, will help you deal with stress, prevent several illnesses and they are great antioxidants.
• 3- Get a massage frequently, follow stress management techniques like visualization, breathing methods and practice meditation on a daily basis to reduce your stress levels. Try different stress reduction techniques that you like best!!!
• 4- Exercise is highly recommended for anyone that wants to reduce stress, develop stronger bones, muscles and have more positive attitude. Select an activity or several that you like, so you can stay with it.
Your body was made for movement and to be stretched regularly, not to be sitting on the couch for several hours! Exercise can also improve your sleep and your hormone imbalance…
• 5- Sleep soundly, if you can! Sleep is essential to your mental and physical health. Sleepless nights will make you very exhausted, more irritable, depressed and may give you high blood pressure.
These are all powerful natural supplements that, when put together they will help you fall asleep.
They are natural substances that will help you sleep well without the side effects of sleeping pills. Valerian extract, melatonin, chamomile extract, lemon balm, GABA, rosemary extract, calcium, magnesium and many others will help you regulate your sleep.
• 6- There are several natural supplements that control cortisol and stress levels – L-Theanine is an amino acid which is also found in green tea and calms and relaxes your brain – this is particularly important during stressful situations.
Magnolia bark, lemon balm, bet-sitosterol and phos-phatidylserine repair some of your anxiety symptoms and attenuate any type of stress. All of these steps are decisive in the control of cortisol, other stress hormones and your stress levels.
Start enjoying your life, resolve problems without thinking that the worst scenario will be the only outcome and try to experience life as if most of the time it is a delightful experience. Make decisions instead of worrying!!!!
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