Cortisol

Do you have digestive problems, trouble sleeping, difficulty losing weight or do you feel tired even after a good night’s sleep? Then your cortisol levels could be out of whack.

Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone and it affects many of the systems in your body - from sleep, to your immune system and digestive system. It's produced by your adrenal gland as a response to stressful situations and is initially made to give you an energy boost to either fight or flight. But since most of today's stressful situations - such as work, crowded area’s or pressure from family - are not necessarily responded to by either fighting or physically running away, the cortisol produced is unused and then stored. This will lead to an access of the hormone in your body in the long run - which is unhealthy for numerous reasons.

How can you tell if you have a cortisol imbalance?

Here’s some clues:

• High cortisol levels can make it difficult to fall or stay asleep. If you’re in a constant state of stress your fight or flight response won’t know when to shut down - making it harder to sleep.

• Even if you are able to sleep well, being in a constant fight or flight state will make you feel tired - no matter how long you sleep. Your adrenal gland working overtime will take energy away from other systems in your body creating fatigue.

• Most receptors for cortisol reside in the lower belly area, which is where fat will be stored in case of a fight or flight situation. Since there won’t be many actual situations like that it will be hard (or nearly impossible) to lose that fat.

• Your stomach and intestines are very sensitive to the cortisol hormone, so whenever it’s out of balance - your digestive system will most likely be too. This can manifest itself in problems such as diarrhea, constipation or gastric acid.

• Last but not least - it can cause you to feel depressed or negative. Cortisol influences the production of serotonin, which is known as the happy hormone or the hormone that regulates mood. 

If you’re really worried about your cortisol levels you can have them checked by your physician. Lots of reasons to start working on your stress management if you ask us! 

*There is research being done on the link between stress and diabetes - since cortisol is said to influence insulin resistance. More on that in another blogpost.