When you are under chronic stress, it doesn’t just affect your adrenal glands. It affects the system of three glands that includes the adrenals. The other two glands are the hypothalamic and pituitary glands. Together, the 3 glands are known as the HPA (hypothalamic – pituitary – adrenal) Axis. This system of glands controls your body’s stress response. When under stress, this system will control blood sugar and electrolyte levels, hunger, metabolism, fertility, hormone activation, and more. Chronic stress can throw the HPA axis into a consistent state of imbalance with the end result of adrenal stress.
Symptoms that can occur because the body is stressed include muscle pain, weakness, fatigue, mood changes, insomnia, and sugar and salt cravings. When we deal with chronic stress in our system, no matter where it might be coming from, it can radically affect cortisol levels. The stress could be from a psychological stress that we might face on a daily basis, such as traffic, deadlines, or financial pressure. Or it can be from stress that is being put on the body things like toxic fumes, a lack of sleep, or blood sugar highs and lows. Here are some ways to get your body back in balance.
Your Diet
Your diet can be used as a tool to balance cortisol levels and restore your body to health. Cortisol is used by the body to regulate blood sugar. This means that if you lack carbohydrates, your body will raise your cortisol in order to make more blood sugar. If you consume lots of good carbohydrates, your cortisol levels will drop. You can adjust your intake of good carbohydrates to help restore the normal high levels of cortisol levels in the morning and low cortisol levels in the evening so that you can get a good night’s rest. This will also relieve the adrenal stress that your body has been experiencing.
Good carbohydrates contain some resistant starch, lots of fiber and are absorbed slowly. Things like beans and legumes, whole grains, and vegetable starches. You want to avoid carbohydrates that are converted quickly to sugar like bread and pasta. The other important diet adjustment to make is to avoid the things that add stress to the body like sugar, excessive caffeine, fried foods, unhealthy fats, and processed foods and drinks.
Supportive Herbs
Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha, rhodiola rosea, and schisandra may help lower cortisol levels and lessen the body’s stress response. Lower cortisol and a lower stress response will help to lessen adrenal stress. You can take the adaptogenic herbs in supplement form or add them to a healthy smoothie. Licorice root and holy basil can be taken as supplements or as a tea. Both of these herbs are thought to be supportive of a calmer body. Treating yourself to a nice relaxing cup of tea may help restore balance in the body not only because of the type of tea, but it’s hard to be stressed when sipping on warm tea.
Supplements
There are basic supplements that are good for almost everyone to take because it is so easy to be deficient in them. This is especially true if you’ve been under chronic stress and are wanting to heal adrenal stress. A deficiency of B vitamins is not unusual when you have been under prolonged periods of stress. And vitamin C has often been referred to as a “stress-busting” nutrient. These are both water soluble, so there is no harm in taking them. Magnesium is a critical component of over 300 processes in the body. A relaxing way to get magnesium is by taking an Epsom salt bath. Your body will absorb the magnesium through the skin. Vitamin D is another critical nutrient and it is believed that most people are deficient.
Get Good Sleep
It is important for everyone to get a good night’s rest. But it is especially true if you have been under chronic stress. For most people, it’s best to avoid staying up late and to stay on a regular sleep cycle. To make sure you get a good night’s rest, make sure your sleep environment is cool, dark, and quiet. Some people are especially sensitive to electromagnetic frequencies, so turning off WiFi at night as well as sleeping away from your cell phone may help further lessen any adrenal stress.
Be Good to Yourself
Gentle to moderate exercise is important for everyone, but especially for people who are healing and have been under chronic stress. Exercise helps get the fluids moving in your body and can help release stored tension. Yoga and Tai chi may be especially helpful because the focus on breathing and being present in your body may help lessen any adrenal stress. Other ways to be good to yourself are to avoid negative people and news and instead, do something you enjoy. And one of the best things in life is laughter . It relieves tension and can change your outlook on life. Finally, spend time with a friend or find something on YouTube that makes you happy.
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