If you’re like most drivers on the highway, you’ve probably seen a car next to yours suddenly veer into your lane, forcing you to quickly swerve to avoid hitting it. In addition to feeling your heart pounding and your breathing quicken, your muscles may also tense up and you may sweat.
This is called the “fight or flight” response, honed over centuries to cope with stress situation. It works like this: When we are threatened, our bodies release a hormone called cortisol that allows us to maintain a state of high alert. When the threat passes, our cortisol levels drop.
While cortisol is also responsible for our circadian rhythm and partly affects the amount of energy we have during the day, it is often referred to as the “stress hormone” because of its role in controlling the body’s response to acute stressors.
“Cortisol is one of the steroids produced by the adrenal glands,” said Irina Bancos, MD, associate professor of medicine, endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition, and principal investigator of the Adrenal Gland Laboratory at Mayo Clinic“Stress causes the pituitary gland to produce more ACTH (corticotropin), which travels to the adrenal glands and tells them that cortisol needs to be produced.”
These stressors can be environmental, such as the risk of a car accident, or anticipatory, such as preparing to give a public speech or having a difficult conversation with a boss or spouse, says Jeanette M. Bennett, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
“There is usually an ideal level, a range that is healthy or helps our bodies function efficiently,” she says of cortisol levels in the body.
The problem is that when cortisol levels are consistently too high, this can put you at risk for a number of health conditions including high blood pressurehigh heart rate and high blood sugar, Bennett says. People may feel tired, sleep poorly, get sick more easily, and experience cognitive changes like increased forgetfulness. Chronic stress is usually the culprit.
“Stressors used to be survival factors, like running away from a tiger or a lion or fighting with another tribe,” says Bennett. “But today, our bodies can still have that same biological response to everyday stressors. That’s when we need to find ways to minimize and limit the engagement of that biological stress response, because most of the time, it’s not necessary to manage the situation we’re in.”
How to lower cortisol
Blood, urine, and saliva tests can check cortisol levels.
If your levels are found to be high, you’ll first want to rule out whether you have a cortisol-producing adrenal tumor, says Bancos. These tumors can be benign or malignant and can contribute to Cushing’s syndromea metabolic disorder that can lead to weight gain, round face, high blood pressure, thirst, and frequent urination.
“If your cortisol is high due to lifestyle factors,” says Melissa Groves Azzaro, RDN, LD, Hormone nutritionist“Then you need to address not only what is causing you stress but also [on] manage your response to stress. I think when people think about stress, they tend to focus on external sources of stress like work, family, and finances, but don’t pay as much attention to internal sources of stress that can contribute to adrenal dysfunction.”
1. Pay attention to what you eat and when you eat it.
Besides eating and drinking balanced mealAzzaro encourages its customers to maintain healthy consumption habits.
“Skipping meals or going without food for too long can put additional stress on the body,” she says. “Riding the ‘blood sugar roller coaster’ all day by restricting and then bingeing is stressful for the body. Keeping caffeine intake to no more than 200 milligrams a day and not consuming caffeine after noon is important, but other things we ‘consume’, like watching the news or scrolling through social media before bed, can stress the adrenal glands and lead to higher cortisol production. Alcohol can also contribute to stress and inflammation in the body.”
2. Get enough sleep and exercise
Both Bennett and Azzaro stressed the importance of consistency. Sleep well And exercise.
Study has shown that poor sleep quality can lead to higher stress levels, making it more difficult to handle everyday stresses and regulate emotions.
Bennett says to aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Sleep habits is also important. This includes going to bed and waking up at the same time every day; sleep in a quiet, dark, cool room; remove devices from the bedroom and wind down before bed; and avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Exercise also helpful in reducing emphasize according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, and has the added benefits of stabilizing mood, improving sleep, and self-esteem.
While the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans call for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle-strengthening activity spread out over a week, Bennett says that may not be appropriate for people new to exercise.
“Anything that gets your body moving is good,” she says. “That can walkor do yogaMaybe ride a bike, or park further away from the store or work and walk to the parking lot.”
For people who are already physically active and in a highly stressful situation, “you need to add other forms of stress management, such as meditation or expressive writing,” she says, “contact a therapist or find someone you can talk to to address the issues you’re struggling with and the things that might be causing your anxiety.”
3. Change your thinking
In some cases, finding a cognitive approach to stress can help some people gain control over the situations that cause them anxiety and lessen the impact these stressors have on them, Bennett says.
“Find meaning,” she says. “If you’ve gotten yourself into a situation that might be overwhelming or unbearable, ask yourself what drove you into that situation in the first place. This will help you refocus on the why, or meaning for you, when you first enter or decide to do X, Y, Z. If you can regain control of the situation, you can control your emotional or psychological response to it, even if you can’t control the situation or the outcome. It can help calm the body and mind.”
4. Practice self-care
In addition to limiting bad habits that can contribute to daily stress, Azzaro says to focus on things that “make us feel good.”
“This is different for everyone,” she says, “but some ideas include reading for pleasure, music, gardening, learning a new skill, and spending time with people we love. Increasing oxytocin, which we produce when hugging people we love, including our pets, is a quick way to reduce cortisol and improve overall stress.”
More information on stress reduction:
