When under duress, the body produces the hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol - your heart rate rises, blood sugar increases and more blood flows to the muscles. This puts the body into fight or flight mode which is really useful when you're about to give a presentation at work, run a race, recover from surgery or take your driving test. In the short term this increase is beneficial - stimulating immune activity and can help focus and concentration. Cortisol is also important for regulating your sleep / wake cycle.
Modern life can be very stressful and for many people the stress hormones get little time to switch off and this is not so good for health.
This picture shows where normal cortisol function should be - in the green section – highest in the morning to help you get up and going in the morning and and lowest at night as you prepare to sleep. It also gives an example of an imbalance of cortisol (taken from saliva samples), here too high in the morning, falling to midday before rising slightly and ending the day far higher than it should be. This person wakes early with anxiety, begins to feel fatigued in the afternoon and sleeps very badly at night.
Long term elevated cortisol can lead to problems with sleeping patterns, affect weight, impact on fertility, thyroid function, digestion and suppresses the immune system.
Cortisol balance can be restored by dietary changes to balance blood sugar, removing food intolerances and rectifying nutritional deficiencies. Lifestyle changes are really important to encourage better sleep and improve relaxation. Nutritional therapy can also provide supplements if necessary to assist the adrenal glands (where cortisol is produced) to help restore balance.
Modern life can be very stressful and for many people the stress hormones get little time to switch off and this is not so good for health.
This picture shows where normal cortisol function should be - in the green section – highest in the morning to help you get up and going in the morning and and lowest at night as you prepare to sleep. It also gives an example of an imbalance of cortisol (taken from saliva samples), here too high in the morning, falling to midday before rising slightly and ending the day far higher than it should be. This person wakes early with anxiety, begins to feel fatigued in the afternoon and sleeps very badly at night.
Long term elevated cortisol can lead to problems with sleeping patterns, affect weight, impact on fertility, thyroid function, digestion and suppresses the immune system.
Cortisol balance can be restored by dietary changes to balance blood sugar, removing food intolerances and rectifying nutritional deficiencies. Lifestyle changes are really important to encourage better sleep and improve relaxation. Nutritional therapy can also provide supplements if necessary to assist the adrenal glands (where cortisol is produced) to help restore balance.