What is cortisol? Problems with high cortisol levels!

What is cortisol?

Most people think of cutting down on food and being more active when it comes to losing fat and getting in shape. Those with a little knowledge may understand the importance of nutrient distribution. However, the truth is that most people slowly start to gain weight after they become adults, and one of the key reasons for this is the abnormal secretion of the stress hormone cortisol.

The functions of cortisol include:

Regulating blood sugar

Inflammation

Blood pressure

Metabolism

Intracellular fluid balance

Assisting memory, etc.

Normally speaking, cortisol is high at 6 to 8 a.m., which is used to help us cope with difficulties and deal with stress. At this time, you will feel energetic and refreshed. Then, at night, when you go to sleep, cortisol secretion decreases while melatonin and growth hormone secretion increases, making you feel relaxed and sleepy.

So, under normal secretion conditions, it is good. When you should work hard, it boosts your energy and concentration. When you just want to relax, the secretion decreases to let you relax.

Problems with high cortisol levels

However, most people will experience several conditions, such as continuing to worry about stress while sleeping at night or using electronic products to watch things that are easy to get excited about and stimulate, causing you to be in a state of high cortisol secretion for a long time. 

The role of cortisol in the body

Cortisol plays a major role in the body's hormonal balance. Prolonged high cortisol secretion can cause the following secretion abnormalities:

Testosterone

Thyroid hormone

Insulin

Estrogen

Growth hormone

Melatonin

So it is easy to have impulsive overeating, poor sleep, digestive abnormalities, anxiety, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, immune system problems, and emotional and brain problems. This is even more serious for women. In the book Hormone Reset Bible, it is said that in addition to women being more stressed than men, women's high cortisol secretion can also cause problems with low progesterone, which can cause many uterine problems, including infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome, menstrual problems, etc. For those of us who care about our figure, chronically high cortisol levels will again cause a condition of fat gain and muscle loss, and the fat will more easily accumulate in the abdomen, causing obesity problems.

Common symptoms of hypercortisolism

You may already know the harm that long-term hypercortisolism can do to our bodies from reading this. You will be very eager to know if you have this problem. The direct way is to go directly to the hospital for a physical examination and measurement.

If you don't want to go to the hospital, you can see if you have any of the following symptoms:

You feel particularly energetic before going to bed

You have difficulty falling asleep, or you only sleep lightly

You are easily distracted, anxious, nervous, or have a poor memory

You crave sweet foods, overeat, and your waistline is getting bigger and bigger

You have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or indigestion

Your menstrual cycle is irregular

If you experience any of these symptoms, I would recommend that you take action as soon as possible.

The basic solution to high cortisol levels

1. Maintain good sleeping habits

Eat, sleep, exercise. Eat, sleep, exercise. Everyone knows this, but most people still don't take sleep seriously. The duration, regularity, and quality of sleep are all very important. I think the more common problem is too many electronic products before going to bed. In addition to the strong blue light, the content is usually also too stimulating and attractive, making you reluctant to go to sleep. Your mind is especially excited. I would suggest that you find something boring but helpful to do directly. For example, I have to start preparing an hour before going to bed, start reading, or meditate. This method works for most people because most people can easily calm down when reading, and then they can stay away from blue light. In addition to being very helpful for sleep, it also allows you to absorb new knowledge. It's a great habit.

2. Cut out caffeine

Moderate amounts of caffeine are great, and I take it myself before exercising, but I would advise most people to cut it out for a while because caffeine directly causes the adrenal glands to secrete more cortisol, adrenaline, and the like. This was also mentioned in a previous article on caffeine written by nutritionist Zhejun.

3. Moderate exercise
The higher the intensity and the longer the duration, the more cortisol will be secreted. For example, 30 minutes of brisk walking or yoga class is a good stress-reducing exercise. Running, high-intensity interval training, and high-volume weight training will increase cortisol secretion. You are afraid that heavy training will reduce muscle mass and cause weight loss. But I must tell you that if cortisol secretion is too high, muscle mass will also decrease, and fat will increase. So I think it is more important to improve this problem first.
4. Orgasm
In particular, women can lower their stress for longer than men during an orgasm. Even if you don't have a partner, you can get regular medical massages.
5. Practice breathing
We rarely take the time to breathe deeply or observe our breathing during the day, but deep breathing exercises can effectively reduce cortisol and stress. Common practices such as yoga and meditation require concentration on proper, correct breathing. When I was young, I read about the 478 breathing method on the internet. It involves inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds, and exhaling is a practice that focuses on breathing. I would recommend that everyone go and try a yoga or meditation class.
6. Stretching, relaxing, and massaging
Muscle and joint stress is related to cortisol secretion. Proper relaxation not only helps you sleep better but also makes your body healthier.
7. Supplements
Among supplements with proven efficacy and high CP values, fish oil is one that I have been taking for a long time. I recommend that everyone can find a good quality and buy it.

Conclusion

I have a lot on my mind, and the pressure is very, very high. My figure went out of shape in the middle of last year. The most helpful thing for me is to improve my sleep and the most helpful thing to improve sleep is to meditate and read before going to bed.
Now, I start preparing for bed at 9:30, go to sleep at 22:00 to 22:30, and get up at around 6:00. After getting up, I don't stay in bed but go straight to the park for a walk in the sun. I feel great all day, my mood is much more cheerful and stable, and my figure has improved a lot. In short, I think most people will have these problems to a certain extent. Stress eating, sleeping difficulties, and stress-related obesity do exist. In particular, after reading the book Hormone Reset Diet, I discovered that many women's diseases are caused by stress.