Cortisol floods the body during times of intense stress and is key in regulating metabolism and blood pressure. You might think about it as the hormone that controls many of the mitigating systems of the body which allows us to respond to stress. Say you are being chased by someone legitimately scary and you need to run away or make a plan to escape. Cortisol is the chemical that optimises the body for those functions only. Like a plane, going down it pulls resources from other areas of the body and throws them into supporting flight or fight. You get a shot of adrenaline if you need to run and the digestive, reproductive and growth systems and processes are dialed down. Your fear and motivation based brain functions light up and you are ready for combat.
Now, normally, once the danger has passed, cortisol will be released less and the levels with the body will return to normal and life goes on. Now imagine your cortisol levels remained high. Your bodily processes geared towards functions that don’t support fight or flight would still be suppressed and your adrenal glands would continue to be triggered. Adrenaline is driving up blood pressure and in the long term would probably cause an increase in weight and could even contribute to heart disease.
Cortisol secretion is handled by the HPA axis, which is made up of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland. High cortisol levels can be caused by a wide variety of things. For women, one of the most common causes seems to be a high level of circulating estrogen. High levels can also be caused by tumors on the pituitary gland or the adrenal glands. This is often common in Cushing syndrome which is a disorder characterised by higher than average levels of cortisol. Symptoms of this disease include weight gain around the midsection, a fatty hump between the shoulders, a rounded face and pink or purple stretch marks. If you have these symptoms, you should check in with your doctor to get a formal diagnosis as any grouping of these could be attributed to a wide variety of other things. As always, this blog is for informational purposes only, not diagnosis.
If you suspect that your cortisol levels may be a bit unbalanced, see a doctor. Additionally, make sure you are supporting your health in all the foundational ways we’ve discussed in previous articles. Make sure you are getting enough good quality sleep. Stay hydrated and eat a nutritious diet. Caffeine stimulates the production of cortisol so perhaps reducing the number of days you start with a cup a joe would be best along with reducing stress in general. Exercise regularly and make sure you are getting the omega fatty acids you need! Things like meditation and yoga are often helpful in mitigating a stressful schedule and therapy can help you learn tools to cope with long term or historical stressors as well!
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538239/
https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/cortisol-test/