What Is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal gland and cortisol secretion is in a daily physiological cycle. Cortisol is most secreted in the morning to wake you up and is lower in the daytime and lowest at night to sleep.
Since the body's main stress hormone, cortisol readies the body to fight or flee danger by means of the "fight-or-flight" process. Its influence, however, goes much deeper than the stress control function, influencing metabolism, immunity, blood pressure, and all sorts of other aspects of daily life.

The Role of Cortisol in the Body


Essential Processes

The body utilizes cortisol with some essential processes:

  • Metabolism regulation: Cortisol regulates your body's carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism to use as energy, especially in fasting or stressful conditions.
  • Regulation of inflammation: It is a very potent anti-inflammatory drug, inhibiting excessive activation of the immune response.
  • Regulation of blood pressure: Cortisol regulates cardiovascular function and upkeep of sufficient blood pressure.
  • Regulation of blood sugar: It collaborates with insulin to maintain your blood glucose level within normal limits, using your brain efficiently.
  • Memory enhancement: Healthy cortisol facilitates recovery of learning and memory solidification.

The Stress Response

During stress, the hypothalamus will stimulate the pituitary to release adrenal glands and cortisol. This cascade speeds up heart rate, raises blood sugar, and directs energy into life processes. This is a great coping strategy during real emergencies but not when this gets activated all the time. The cortisol function in the body extends beyond stress response.

What Causes High Cortisol Levels?


Lifestyle Factors

Work, social, or finances chronic stress is the biggest contributor to high cortisol levels and cortisol and stress relationship. Lifestyle contributors to high cortisol also include:

  • Sleep: Lack of or poor sleep disrupts cortisol regulation
  • Excessive caffeine: Excessive caffeine triggers the release of cortisol
  • Overtraining with no recovery time: Habitual overtraining maintains the body in state of stress
  • Diet: Food intake with too much processed foods and excessive refined sugar stimulates cortisol

Medical Conditions

Cushing's syndrome is the most advanced of secondary cortisol excess diseases produced by tumors or prolonged corticosteroid treatment. Depression, obesity, and some medication also produce high cortisol.

Symptoms of High Cortisol

Earliest detectability of imbalance is possible with identification of symptoms of high cortisol:

  • Physical examination results like the facility with which the patient predisposes to obesity in the abdomen and face, purple striate, bruising, healing of wounds, muscle weakness, and thinning of the skin. Cortisol and weight gain also logically has a correlation because overproduction of cortisol leads to hunger and fat storage, particularly the visceral fat.
  • Psychological and emotional expressions range from mood swing, inattention, irritability, and cortisol and anxiety. Causation is cortisol and stress increasing stress raises cortisol, increasing anxiety, raising more stress.
  • Sleep is disturbed with the high level of cortisol and sleep during the night spilling over into melatonin release. Melatonin overflow and sleep do not result in restoration of slow wave sleep, leading to a continuous cycle of stress.

Read More: 333 Rule for Anxiety: Grounding Technique for Quick Stress and Panic Relief


Effects of Chronic Cortisol Imbalance

Increases over time have adverse effects of cortisol on health:

  • Metabolic syndrome: Hypercortisolism induces type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease because it results in predominant chronic hyperglycemia and inflammation.
  • Immune suppression: Sustained elevated cortisol is immunodestructive and renders infection susceptible, while elevated cortisol acutely is beneficial in helping to terminate the inflammation.
  • Bone loss: Hypercortisolism inhibits bone development and calcium absorption, resulting in potential osteoporosis.
  • Clouded thinking: Chronic exposure neurotoxicity to the hippocampus, interfering with learning and memory and heightened risk of dementia.
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms: Cortisol elevation upsets the balance in the gut, leading to IBS-like symptoms and elevated intestinal permeability.

How to Lower Cortisol Naturally?


Reduce Stress

The process of how to lower cortisol naturally starts with stress reduction:

  • Mindfulness and meditation: Mindfulness and meditation, performed on a consistent basis, lower cortisol by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system.
  • Deep breathing: Slow, deep diaphragmatic breathing lowers stress hormones immediately.
  • Nature time: Outdoor time in parks and other locations lowers cortisol levels naturally.
  • Social connection: Healthy social relationships and social support as a buffer against stress.

Lifestyle Changes

  • Sleep well: Develop consistent sleeping routines, build dark sleeping bedrooms, and sleep 7-9 hours at night to allow room for healthy sleep and cortisol cycles.
  • Daily exercise: Daily moderate exercise keeps stress low, but don't over-exercise. Yoga and tai chi best balance cortisol.
  • Dietary habit: Eat whole foods that is high in omega-3 fats, antioxidants, and fiber. No caffeine, alcohol, or processed sugar.
  • Supplements: Ashwagandha, omega-3 fatty acids, phosphatidylserine, and magnesium will reduce cortisol, but see medical experts first before taking supplements.

When Cortisol Is Too Low?


Adrenal Insufficiency

Low cortisol, less commonly found, is dangerous too. Addison's disease is primary adrenal insufficiency when adrenal glands are not sufficient to make cortisol. Secondary insufficiency is when pituitary is not stimulating sufficient release of cortisol.
Darkening of complexion, weakness, lassitude, weight loss, salt craving, hypotension, and mood swing are symptoms and signs. Low cortisol levels, if not treated, is a killer and must be treated by a physician immediately.

Diagnosis and Medical Management


Testing for Cortisol Imbalance

A laboratory test carried out by the blood test, saliva test, or urine test to measure cortisol is done. Doctors can prescribe the following cortisol test options:

  • Morning cortisol level to make an estimate of peak cortisol
  • Total day output 24-hour urine collection
  • Late-evening salivary cortisol to assess elevated evening level
  • ACTH stimulation test to assess adrenal function

Treatment

  • Cushing's syndrome secondary Hypercortisolism is treated by surgery, radiation, or medication. Hypercortisolism is replaced by hormone drug under close medical supervision.
  • In secondary increases due to stress in the absence of disease, change of life-style under therapy or counseling usually halts cortisol imbalance control.

Conclusion

Cortisol-dependent lives in fighting to maintain metabolism, immunity, and reaction to stress. Stressful living and new lifestyle, although typically very common, defy cortisol regulation and cause chaos to health conditions. Knowing how cortisol behaves when stressed, having a familiarity with symptoms of Hypercortisolism, and responding to natural cortisol decline can save body and mental well-being.

High, low, good diagnosis with cortisol testing and good treatment medical care or dietary modification is waiting to get everything under control and enhance quality of life. Don't also recall that conquering cortisol imbalance isn't a question of removing stress from the equation but of being ready for resiliency and good response to the inescapable potholes in life's highway.

Please book an appointment with the Best Endocrinologist in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, and all major cities of Pakistan through InstaCare, or call our helpline at 03171777509 to find the verified doctor for your disease.