Everyone talks about the need to lessen stress and reduce cortisol in the bloodstream, but who actually knows what cortisol actually is? Wikipedia defines cortisol as: “Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones, and is produced in humans by the zona fasciculata of the adrenal cortex within the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and low blood-glucose concentration.” To de-biologify that, our adrenals produce cortisol in response to stressful situations and low blood sugar. And elevated levels of cortisol in the blood stream can lead to chronic inflammation and chronic illnesses.
Which is funny, because cortisol is *released* in the body in response to stress, so it has to be a good thing, right? Wrong. Incidentally, cortisol is also taken in the form of medication: hydrocortisone. The adrenals are little organs near the kidneys, and cortisol production is a funny mechanism: too little or too much can impact the body negatively. When the body is in a constant state of agitation (fight or flight), the adrenals produce more cortisol as a response to that state. Since cortisol is produced to give you more energy when in a fight or flight mode — that is, to deal with the added stress — your appetite increases. And one of the immediate solutions to increased stress is eating the wrong kind of food, also known as stress eating or emotional eating.
Here, we examine some remedies to combat increased cortisol – we guarantee some of them will surprise you!
Reduce Cortisol Naturally
- The one assured way that will always, always, always help reduce cortisol naturally in the body is to exercise. That’s right, a means to use up the extra energy. For ages, people have been “blowing off steam” at the gym or with a run around the neighbourhood park when in a stressful situation. The next time you fight with your partner, just focus for a moment and see what your immediate response is. You will likely slam the door in their face and go for a walk around the block. (If you find yourself heading for the refrigerator, don’t. Walk around the block.) Or hit the cross trainer or the treadmill at the gym.
- Drink herbal relaxants: No coffee if under stress. Caffeine ramps up the impact of cortisol in the human body. Choose chamomile tea or dandelion tea instead. Herbalists swear by the efficacy of these drinks as a way to reduce stress and bring about a state of relaxation. Try not to drink wine as a way to relax, though that is helpful on a normal day. You would do better to choose herbal tea in stressful times.
- Practice mindful meditation: That state of being where you accept things as they come without trying to influence or change them in any way is mindful meditation. This may seem hokey at first, but try it. When practiced, it brings about a sustained state of calm and unfazedness (if you will). What’s more, being mindful and reminding yourself to enter a state of zen over time will become second nature. And over time, your cortisol levels will learn to regulate themselves even during stressful situations. We even cover meditation techniques for beginnershere on the blog. Win-win.
- Listen to soothing music: The benefits of sound healing are manifold, research proves. As it is a natural way to bring relaxation to the body and mind, and entirely non-invasive, sound healing is finding favour even in modern medicine as supplementary therapy for healing. Sound healing therapy is seen as a particularly effective add-on in the treatment of chronic and acute disorders for the simple reason that it impacts our emotional state as well as our physical body positively.
- Relieve stress with aromatherapy: We’ve already covered our favorite aromatherapy oils for stress relief. Stress relief oils help you unwind and focus more on your inner calm. In tense situations, when cortisol runs roughshod through your system, our jaws tend to clench, muscles to strain or tighten, and our blood pressure rises. All of this, added to any external cause such as an irate boss, a rude store assistant, or just bad weather, can weigh you down and make you internalize the feeling of stress more so than usual. Aromatherapy works on one of your key senses, i.e., the sense of smell. The aromatic molecules directly impact your brain, helping your nervous system to calm down from the inside. And as your brain begins to calm down, it regulates the levels of cortisol in the body.
Try one of these when you find yourself in an agitated state. Staying positive and approaching stress with a forward-thinking attitude is sometimes all that you need to reduce cortisol naturally in the body.
