Cortisol in your body and how it works
You eat healthily enough, but you notice the kilos are still slowly creeping up on the scale. You do your best to get a good amount of sleep each night but you’re constantly tired and prone to insomnia or sleep disturbances. Then, there’s that recurring cold or flu that you can never quite shake off…
What’s going on?
Say hello to cortisol – a steroid hormone that’s produced in our adrenal glands, which can be found on top of the kidneys.
When it suddenly seems as if your digestion is faulty, you’re plagued by sleep issues, constantly tired and gaining weight for no reason – it could be out-of-whack levels of cortisol.
Aptly known as the “stress hormone”, cortisol actually plays an important role in our health.
Here's how cortisol works in the body:
How do you tend to feel in a stressful situation? Think back to an anxious moment, whether physical and/or psychological, and you may remember feeling the fight-or-flight response. This instinct helps prepare your body to deal with the stressor by increasing glucose levels in the bloodstream, providing an immediate energy source to the muscles and brain.
Cortisol plays a key role in regulating your metabolism. It helps maintain steady blood sugar levels by promoting gluconeogenesis, the process by which the liver produces glucose from non-carbohydrate sources like amino acids and glycerol.
We can also thank cortisol for its anti-inflammatory properties that suppresses the immune system's response to inflammation. This can be helpful in the short term by reducing inflammation from an injury or infection. Still, chronic elevation of cortisol levels due to long-term stress can impact immune function and increase our vulnerability to illness.
When it comes to moods and emotions, cortisol plays a role here too, helping with emotional processing, forming memories and maintaining a balanced mood. Cortisol does all of this by interacting with neurotransmitters in the brain.
Cortisol also helps regulate blood pressure by influencing the action of other hormones involved in fluid balance and blood vessel constriction.
So, why does cortisol go awry sometimes?
- If you experience ongoing stress, your body continuously releases cortisol to help you cope. This can lead to a disruption in cortisol levels over time.
- When you don't get sufficient or regular sleep, your body's cortisol rhythm can be disturbed. Normally, cortisol levels are highest in the morning to help you wake up and decrease gradually throughout the day to help you sleep at night.
- Eating poorly, not exercising regularly, too much caffeine or alcohol and other unhealthy habits all affect cortisol levels. For example, excessive sugary or processed foods can cause spikes in blood sugar levels, which triggers cortisol release.
- Certain illnesses, like Cushing's syndrome (caused by tumours that increase cortisol production) or Addison's disease (caused by insufficient cortisol production), can affect cortisol levels.
- Some medications, like corticosteroids used to treat asthma or arthritis, can raise cortisol levels and upset the body's natural balance.
- People who have experienced trauma or have PTSD may have disrupted cortisol levels as part of their body's response to stress.
- Imbalances in other hormones, such as thyroid issues or problems with reproductive hormones, can indirectly affect cortisol levels.
- Some people have a genetic predisposition to cortisol imbalances, which can affect how their adrenal glands function or how they respond to stress.
- Pollution, noise, and other environmental stressors can also contribute to cortisol imbalance by increasing overall stress levels.
Do your body a favour and take proactive steps to manage stress, adopt healthy lifestyle habits, get enough sleep, exercise regularly and ALWAYS get medical advice if needed.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only. Always check with your doctor or medical practitioner about any health concerns, before embarking on any fitness or nutrition programme, or using any medication.