Managing the Impact of Cortisol

 

A neuroscientist has warned people of the negative affects stress can have on your body. Speaking to podcast host Steven Bartlett in an episode of his show, Diary Of A CEO, Dr. Tara Swart sent an alarming message to viewers: Stress can be contagious, and cortisol, the body's main stress hormone, can affect others around you and contribute to abdominal fat.

Stress is a feeling nearly all of us have experienced, typically occurring in response to mental or emotional strain. When experiencing anxiety or fear, the body releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol in response. Cortisol is naturally produced by the adrenal glands, which are located on top of your kidneys. In times of stress, the body releases higher levels of cortisol, which then enters your bloodstream.

Dr. Swart says stress is contagious as it can leak from one person's sweat and affect others. She explains that this contagious stress could cause others to experience heightened levels of stress as well, impacting their overall mental and physical health. She warns it is important to be aware of our own stress levels and acknowledge the potential influence our own stress can have on those in our immediate vicinity.

When asked by Steven Bartlett if stress is contagious, she replied: "Yes. Cortisol is the main stress hormone and it will leak out of our sweat." She said it will 'leak out' several centimeters around us, and "go into the skin of everybody else and it's going to impact them."

Dr. Swart also warns that too much cortisol could cause belly fat that is "really hard to shift". Explaining how it happens, she explained: "In a 24-hour cycle, depending on your age and your gender, there's a normal range for cortisol, so it can go up and down. When something challenging happens we need to adapt and rise to meet that challenge. But when that level is above the top range all the time, the receptors in your brain basically think that there's an imminent threat to your survival, so there's this whole cascade of hormones that go on to cause inflammation in the body - inflammation of your vascular system, inflammation around your heart, gut and everything else."

Maintaining the proper balance of cortisol is crucial for your overall well-being, as an excess of this hormone can lead to various health issues. Dr. Swart added that high levels can "lead to abdominal fat, especially when stress is chronic." She explained how in early caveman times, when humans would be on the hunt for food, “if you were potentially not going to find food for a month, then if you had extra fat around your abdomen, you could digest that and survive until you could find food," she said.

Discussing why this belly fat can be hard to shift, she said: "As long as you're still leaking out extra cortisol, nothing's going to change. And even exercising more or eating better, less, or differently wouldn't shift that fat; you have to get to the root cause and you have to reduce the cortisol."

So what is cortisol? From the Cleveland Clinic's website, it is a steroid hormone that your adrenal glands, the endocrine glands on top of your kidneys, produce and release. Cortisol affects several aspects of your body and mainly helps regulate your body's response to stress.

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that your adrenal glands produce and release. Hormones are chemicals that coordinate different functions in your body by carrying messages through your blood to your organs, skin, muscles and other tissues. These signals tell your body what to do and when to do it. Glucocorticoids are a type of steroid hormone. They suppress inflammation in all of your bodily tissues and control metabolism in your muscles, fat, liver and bones.

Glucocorticoids also affect sleep-wake cycles. Your adrenal glands, also known as suprarenal glands, are small, triangle-shaped glands that are located on top of each of your two kidneys. They’re a part of your endocrine system.

Cortisol is an essential hormone that affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. Your body continuously monitors your cortisol levels to maintain steady levels (homeostasis). Higher-than-normal or lower-than-normal cortisol levels can be harmful to your health. Your body has an elaborate system to regulate your cortisol levels.

Your hypothalamus, a small area of your brain involved in hormonal regulation, and your pituitary gland, a tiny gland located below your brain, regulate the production of cortisol in your adrenal glands. When the levels of cortisol in your blood fall, your hypothalamus releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which directs your pituitary gland to produce adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH then stimulates your adrenal glands to produce and release cortisol. In order to have optimal levels of cortisol in your body, your hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal glands must all be functioning properly.

Healthcare providers can measure your cortisol levels through blood, urine or saliva tests. They will determine which test is best depending on your symptoms. The level of cortisol in your blood, urine and saliva normally peaks in the early morning and declines throughout the day, reaching its lowest level around midnight. This pattern can change if you work a night shift and sleep at different times of the day.

For most tests that measure cortisol levels in your blood, the normal ranges are:

• 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.: 10 to 20 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL).

• Around 4 p.m.: 3 to 10 mcg/dL.

• There are several everyday things you can do to try to lower your cortisol levels and keep them at optimal ranges, including:

  • Get quality sleep: Chronic sleep issues, such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia or working a night shift, are associated with higher cortisol levels.

  • Exercise regularly: Several studies have shown that regular exercise helps improve sleep quality and reduce stress, which can help lower cortisol levels over time.

  • Learn to limit stress and stressful thinking patterns: Being aware of your thinking pattern, breathing, heart rate and other signs of tension helps you recognize stress when it begins and can help you prevent it from becoming worse.

  • Practice deep breathing exercises: Controlled breathing helps stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, your “rest and digest” system, which helps lower cortisol levels.

  • Enjoy yourself and laugh: Laughing promotes the release of endorphins and suppresses cortisol. Participating in hobbies and fun activities can also promote feelings of well-being, which may lower your cortisol levels.

  • Maintain healthy relationships: Relationships are a significant aspect of our lives. Having tense and unhealthy relationships with loved ones or co-workers can cause frequent stress and raise your cortisol levels.

  A note from the Cleveland Clinic: Cortisol is an essential hormone that impacts several aspects of your body. While there are several things you can do to try to limit your stress, and therefore manage your cortisol levels, sometimes having abnormally high or low levels of cortisol is out of your control. If you experience symptoms of high or low cortisol levels, such as weight gain or loss and high or low blood pressure, respectively, it’s important to contact your healthcare provider. They can run some simple tests to see if your adrenal glands or pituitary gland are responsible for your symptoms.