Get Those Stress Hormones Out of Your System
Hormones that your body produces during times of stress, (cortisol and epinephrine) are a necessary part of life and health. The problems they create — like a feeling of anxiety or stress, weight gain, and many, many others — enter the scene when those hormones build up in your body and don’t have any way to exit your system.
Here is a great explanation of how stress hormones work in your body and one very easy and effective way to clear them out!
Your body is a very simple machine. When your brain needs to send signals through your nervous systems, many times it uses chemicals to get the message across. Stress produces chemicals called hormones – e.g. cortisol and epinephrine. The chemicals themselves aren’t bad (we’re not talking about Clorox bleach) but just like any other chemical, it is a toxin (your body can’t digest or assimilate it). But as long as we flush the chemicals out as fast as stress produces them, they don’t build up and cause any harm.
Imagine you’re in a tiny row boat. As you get stressed, water leaks into your boat through a little hole in the bottom. But as long as you stick to your cleansing, detoxifying lifestyle that removes those chemicals, you are able to bail out the water in your tiny boat, without it filling up. BUT if that hole gets larger (lots of constant stress) and you aren’t “bailing” fast enough (not removing the chemical hormones fast enough), it’s simple logic, your boat will fill (starting with your body’s weak spots) and eventually you will sink. Simple as that! What can we tweak in our daily diet to keep the “hole in our boat” from growing larger?
Drink more water
How? Drink half an ounce of water per pound you weigh. Daily. PERIOD. For example, I’m 200lbs, half of that is 100, so I drink 100 oz of water daily. You either just said “I drink a lot of water now” or “Whoa, that’s a lot of water!” My 10 Day Water Challenge makes it crystal clear if you REALLY are drinking enough water AND it’s a fool proof way to increase your daily water consumption to where it needs to be. (1) In the mornings, fill up a single large jug with your daily amount of water. (2) Finish it by the end of the day…BOOM (Ninja tip: add ½ teaspoon of sea salt or Himalayan salt per 64ozs of water for better absorption and less peeing!)
Why? Your body is 70%+ water. Water is how your body transports nutrients to your cells. Water is how your body removes wastes and toxins from your cells. Water is the body’s river of life. Dehydration leads to accumulation of residual stress hormones. IMPORTANT: Sodas and energy drinks and juices are NOT the same as H2O, water. It’s fast! Try the Water Challenge for 10 days and see for yourself.
– via www.anxietyguru.net
Approach Lowering Cortisol From Many Directions
Over time dealing with stressful situations repeatedly creates a build up of these stress hormones in your system. That over production and lingering hormones are what cause the health problems you don’t want.
Getting rid of them effectively, takes a smart and multi-pronged approach. Here is another effective component for your cortisol lowering game plan.
Getting those Z’s- How Sleep Rejuvenates and Lowers Cortisol
We frequently hear about the importance of sleep in maintaining health. But how does it impact cortisol levels and stress? According to recent literature, quite a bit: people who suffer from sleep disorders commonly have elevated levels of salivary cortisol. And the association between anxiety and is also evident in the data: A epidemiological survey of 772 individuals by the Journal of Sleep found that people who suffered from sleep-deprivation were 17 times more like that their sound-sleeping counterparts to suffer from anxiety problems (Lichstein).
As a result of these research findings and my own personal problems with cortisol indicated by InsideTracker, I assessed my own sleeping patterns and realized that I was not engaging in a full night of rest. I frequently don’t get a full eight hours of rest, wake up sporadically throughout the night, and oftentimes don’t wake up well-rested. After re-evaluating my sleeping habits, I am now making some key changes. First, I am not checking my e-mails for 30 minutes before I sleep (not even for InsideTracker!). Secondly, I will make finally set up that humidifier in my room to help with my breathing. And finally, I will find some sort of stress-decompress activity before bed…in fact, maybe I will write that 15 minute “de-stress” journal entry while I crank out 90s R & B.
– via blog.insidetracker.com
Do you have symptoms of elevated cortisol?