6 Things to Help Regulate Your Bodies Cortisol Levels
posted on: Saturday February 1, 2014
Who hasn’t dealt with stress? With approaching deadlines, frantic schedules, and a multitude of tasks that need to get done, stress has become an unavoidable part of our days and even our nights.
While occasional stress may not affect your well-being, regular stressful episodes can eventually begin to take a toll on your health if not properly managed. Every time we become stressed, our body reacts by producing and releasing cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, into the bloodstream. Studies show that high levels of this hormone can produce serious health problems and increase the chances of dying from heart disease. Are you at risk? David Oliver, DO, an osteopathic physician from Ocala, FLorida discusses the symptoms associated with increased cortisol levels and provides tips to help keep your stress and health in check.
How can increased cortisol levels affect your health?
If you have trouble sleeping during the night, difficulty recovering after exercise, or excessive cravings after 5 p.m., you might be experiencing the effects of high cortisol levels, which result when the body is under intense stress. Is cortisol completely bad for your health? “No,” says Dr. Oliver. “A small rise in cortisol levels is normal. That is your body’s natural response to stress. In fact, normal cortisol levels actually help to strengthen the heart muscle and control blood pressure and blood sugar levels,” He notes. According to Dr. Oliver, a normal cortisol level should peak in the morning hours between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. and then steadily decline throughout the day. It becomes dangerous when the body experiences chronic stress, because over time, these levels increase above optimal range, and can put you at risk for developing sleeping, memory and digestive problems, as well as serious mental and physical problems.
Symptoms may include:
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Weight gain
- Increased blood pressure
- Difficulty recovering from exercise
If you suffer from these symptoms, Dr. Oliver recommends visiting your physician for proper diagnosis and treatment.
How can you keep your stress and cortisol levels at a healthy level?
“It starts with proper nutrition, hydration, a balanced exercise routine, and plenty of sleep,”
To help regulate your body’s cortisol levels and maintain good health, Dr. Oliver recommends:
- Avoiding toxins such as cigarette smoke, chewing tobacco, and caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea.
- Avoiding sugar and reducing starchy carbohydrates in your diet.
- Routine daily exercise, which helps ultimately reduce resting cortisol levels; however, make sure to limit extreme heart activity, such as intense training exercise, to 40 minutes, since that’s when cortisol levels peak.
- Implementing recovery based exercise, such as walking, Pilates or yoga to regulate cortisol output.
- Getting around 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night, ideally from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation.
“If you’re suffering with stress symptoms on a daily basis, it is important to work with your physician to determine a stress management strategy, says Dr. Oliver. “Most of the time, a few key lifestyle changes are all it takes to reduce stress and improve your health.”
Staying stress-free and healthy
Stress may be unavoidable, but it is not impossible to manage. “Taking steps to implement better nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes into your weekly schedule can help regulate your stress and cortisol levels,” says Dr. Oliver. “Stress is a part of life, but with the guidance of your physician and stress management techniques, you can begin to take control of stress and your cortisol levels before they control you.”
Preventive medicine is just one aspect of care osteopathic physicians provide. DOs are fully licensed to prescribe medicine and practice in all specialty areas, including surgery. DOs are trained to consider the health of the whole person and use their hands to help diagnose and treat their patients.