Stress and Your Adrenals
What do we think of when we think of stress?
Most people think of stress as emotional in nature. But stress can also be caused by physical injury and pain, internal inflammation resulting from a poor diet, or even thermal conditions--frequent extreme temperature shifts. (No wonder we’re all so stressed out!)
Thus, contrary to popular thought, all stress does NOT come from one’s parents, children or partner 😉.
Our bodies have two main stress glands that sit right above our kidneys: the adrenal glands. They are pea sized, but powerful! I call them "stress glands" because, in addition to the hormones aldosterone, progesterone, testosterone, and precursors to estrogen, the adrenal glands produce cortisol and adrenaline--the two main stress-activated hormones.
Most of you have heard about adrenaline. It’s the sympathetic nervous system “fight or flight” hormone. It’s there to protect us in case we’re being chased by a grizzly bear, or more likely, have to get out of the way of a moving vehicle. However, it’s also produced during perceived threats: situations that are not likely to kill us, but our responses to them can hurt us and make us sick nonetheless.
Here’s how that works: adrenaline causes vasoconstriction, and thus increases blood pressure and heart rate. When this happens a lot, we end up in what’s called sympathetic overdrive--always on the alert, and therefore continually stressing our heart. Over time, it also adversely affects our breathing, mood, digestion, sleep, and libido.
The other very important hormone produced by the adrenals is cortisol. Cortisol has many functions; it is anti-inflammatory, modulates the immune system, regulates blood sugar, regulates metabolism, and helps with memory formation. Cortisol levels that are too high have been linked to high blood sugar, diabetes, anxiety and depression, low libido, high blood pressure, and weight gain. Cortisol levels that are too low can cause fatigue and muscle wasting, low blood pressure, dizziness, and inability to cope.
Some Common Causes of Adrenal Dysfunction
Prolonged stress, perceived or real
The Standard American Diet (aka SAD): highly processed foods, sugar, too many starchy carbs, fried foods, fast foods, no or minimal vegetables, animal products containing hormones and antibiotics
Lack of exercise
Lack of connection to others
Not enough sleep
The Fix
Norman Vincent Peale once said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world." Or, as my husband says, “Calm down.”😊 Oh, but how to do that? Take deep breaths, note that life is not an emergency, live truly in the moment. Regretting the past, or worrying about the future robs us of the only time we truly have, now.
Eat real food. Stop the chemical consumption. Read labels. Eat lots of vegetables, all the colors nature has to offer. Eat only grass-fed, free range, hormone-free animal products. Eat organic as much as possible. Stop eating sugar--it's been shown to be more addictive than heroin! (See my Sugar vs. Fat blog post.) Also, it’s a good idea to give up the chips ☹️. Don’t feel overwhelmed. Instead, work on one change at a time and you'll get there. As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Exercise! Yoga, bicycling, weight lifting, swimming, running, anything you enjoy--it's ALL good! And if you can, mix it up. When you challenge your body in new and various ways it keeps your metabolism up and improves brain function too!
Spend time with people you love.
Sleep 7-9 hours nightly. For a good night’s sleep, turn off all blue light devices (cell phones, computers, TVs) at least an hour before bed. Blue light suppresses the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.
You may also benefit from adaptogenic herbs such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, ginseng, rehmannia (etc.). When patients come to me for stress-related illness, I test to determine which herbs would be most appropriate for them, along with coaching for a healthy lifestyle and dietary changes.
Last, but not least, get adjusted! Aligning the spine reduces stress on the nerves and helps to balance the sympathetic (fight/flight) and parasympathetic (rest/digest) nervous system. This is why so many people feel so much better after being adjusted 😊.
One final note: Recent studies show that smiling causes an increase in the production of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins--our bodies major feel-good chemicals. So, you know what to do…