More and more people are suffering from stress-related conditions as a result of complex lives. Maybe you also feel the negative impact of stress affecting your health? December is one of the most stressful months of the year!
Your adrenal glands can be adversely affected by stress. You surely heard about adrenal fatigue as it seems to show up frequently in our lives.
The adrenal glands are located near the kidneys. They produce the hormones that are needed for the body to function properly. The main hormone is cortisol, which regulates metabolism and is a response to stress.
Stress adversely affects these glands because, when the body is under severe stress the glands start producing more hormones to help the body cope. When you experience stress over a long period of time, these glands weaken and this negatively affects the body and results in adrenal fatigue.
What are the symptoms of adrenal fatigue?
You feel tired – all the time! Adrenal fatigue makes a person very tired. The body’s cortisol levels are elevated and this leads to you being in an almost permanent state of alertness. Of course it will be challenging to fall asleep or get a good night’s sleep. You might think you are getting enough sleep and still wake up feeling tired and fatigued.
Non-stop cravings! One way that adrenal fatigue affects the body is to lower the blood sugar level. When this happens cravings for “energy” foods increase. Not just your brain craves more sugar-laden comfort foods. Adrenal fatigue can also result in cravings for salty foods. This is because the adrenal glands affect how the kidneys regulate mineral fluctuations. When we suffer from fatigue, the body releases more minerals in the urine. This in turn can increase the desire for salty snacks.
Late evening energy boost? You might feel sluggish and tired all day but then in the late evening you experience a surge of energy. Usually cortisol reaches a peak in late morning and then reduces during the day.
Difficulty in handling stress. The normal body’s response to stress is to release specific hormones so that stress can be handled effectively. The three specific hormones are cortisol, adrenaline, norepinephrine. The release of these important hormones is adversely affected by adrenal fatigue. And this will result in the weakening of our ability to deal with stress every day. For example: Cortisol gives the body extra energy to cope with the stress, it increases memory function and lowers sensitivity to pain. However, the body needs a rest period after cortisol has been released in a stress-related situation. If a person is suffering from adrenal fatigue and rarely gets to have the ‘rest period’, then over time less and less cortisol is produced.
Experiencing infections? Cortisol helps to regulate the immune system in the body and works as an anti-inflammatory. Too much cortisol over an extended period of time hinders the response of the immune system and this results in having more infections. If the adrenal glands are so weakened that they produce too little cortisol, then the body’s response is to over react to infections resulting in certain autoimmune disorders.
If you experience these symptoms, please visit your trusted doctor/health practitioner so tests could be done to arrive at the right diagnosis.
In the meantime, there are things that you can do to improve your health! The most important thing is to try and cut back on your stress levels. Now this might seem easier said than done but remember taking only 1 yoga class a week (the more classes you can take the better of course) will deliver a bit more serenity to your day. Add a few minutes of deep breathing and a 3-10-minute meditation every evening…. And you will feel calmer and stress will lessen its grip on you!
Starting from January 1st, we will offer our most loved packages of the year: our special 3, 6 and 12-month unlimited yoga class cards. Here is where you can get them come the 1st day of 2016.
This is a good article about stress. Stress is a silent killer because there are so many different types of stress (good stress and bad stress if you will). And there are things that someone could do nutritionally to help with excess cortisol release, but I am a firm believer on meditation and yoga to help relieve some of those stressors!
My husband and I always say that we live a very healthy lifestyle: eat a clean diet, exercise regularly, get as much sleep as we can, and stay away from toxic people and “junk” as much as possible….BUT, the one thing we are constantly trying to lessen is our stress levels:: Our hectic work week and very limited down time can cause our stress levels to skyrocket. Fortunately, my yoga practice and meditation helps. But, again, decreasing our stress is the ONE thing we are always working to improve. Great article and great reminder to what stress does to our bodies.
The yoga breath is such an antidote to stress. Often when we feel stressed we are literally holding our breath. This article was helpful in identifying what is going on in our body when stress is not balanced by “healthy” living practices. Thanks for this insightful piece.
Thank you for this article. It is a good reminder for practicing yogis to use their “tools.” Work is my biggest trigger for stress. Long hours and difficult clients can really wear me down. When I sacrifice my yoga practice for work I feel it. When I come back to my yoga practice and breath I can deal with work stress in a much calmer and healthier way. Deep breaths are literally a life saver.