Do You Know How to Control Excess Cortisol and Stress

How To Control Excess Cortisol

Control excess cortisol and stress is very important.
Cortisol is a hormone released by your adrenal gland in response to either physical or emotional stress.  Whether it’s an extremely low calorie diet, missed nights of sleep or getting caught in a traffic jam, your body responds in much the same way.

Cortisol forms part of the fight-or-flight response we’ve inherited from our stone-age ancestors.  Faced with a saber tooth tiger, they really did have only two choices—to run or to fight.

One of the main functions of cortisol is to increase the flow of glucose, protein and fat out of your tissues and into the circulation.  This is designed to immediately increase your energy levels in response to a physical threat.

Short Term Increase in Cortisol is OK

There is actually nothing wrong with a short-term rise in cortisol, as long as it returns to normal levels after the emergency.  Unfortunately, many of us suffer from increasing levels of emotional stress.  illness, losing a job, or having too many bills to pay can mean that cortisol levels remain constantly elevated.

We are all faced with some form of stress from day to day.  However, some people secrete more cortisol than others in response to the same source of stress.  Just worrying about a future stressful event that may never happen can trigger the release of cortisol.

Excess Cortisol Leads to Other Health Issues

Not only is cortisol associated with the storage of abdominal fat, it’s also been linked to all kinds of health issues, including diabetes, heart disease and depression.  Cortisol may also weaken your immune system, leaving you more susceptible to colds and flu.

Increased levels of cortisol are caused by stress, environmental pollutant, and lifestyle.  Factors that increase cortisol in the body are:  Caffeine-Sugar-Chocolate-Stress-Anti-Depressants.

Damage of Excess Cortisol:

Impaired Immune

Osteoporosis

Reduced muscles

Increased abdominal fat

Reduced glucose utilization

Impaired memory and learning

Reduced growth hormone, testosterone, DHEA & estrogen

Depression

Tumor growths

Lack of 6-8 hours sleep(all at one time)daily

And much more!!

DO YOU KNOW:   Only 3 cups of coffee will keep elevated cortisol levels in your body for 18 hours.  If you take your coffee with sugar, there is a 200% increase!!!

Anti-depressants increase cortisol output 2-3 times and the main ingredients are MERCURY & CHLORINE(some studies indicate a connection to Alzheimer’s)

Hey, now the GOOD news, we can do something about it and here are a few suggestions:

Essential Oils

Lavender blocks caffeine and stress!!!  Studies show that Lavender Essential Oil blunts stress levels by almost 100% and stops the rise in cortisol from coffee.  Try a sniff of lavender if you indulge in coffee.  Get more sleep by placing a drop or 2 on something near the head of your bed.

Quality Natural Herbs

We also have many herbs and combination to help us deal with stress: You can try some of these by ordering online with discount. Order HERE!

STR-J—Nerve Control—Nerve Eight-Valerian-Hops—Lobelia—Chamomile—Licorice Root—Magnesium (my favorite)
 
Also there are herb combinations that help depression and makes our life so much better.

St. John’s Wort—Mood Elevator–Magnesium

ARE YOU SLEEP DEPRIVED???

The average person needs around eight and one-half hours of sleep every night. You might need a little less or a little more, but you need this sleep every day, just like you need water and oxygen every day. Losing just one hour of sleep per day (seven hours instead of eight, for instance) builds up your sleep debt, in fact you can never get back lost sleep.

REM Sleep

It’s not just the quantity of sleep that you need, it’s also the quality of that sleep. You need several hours of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep every night to be healthy. This is the sleep where you dream. When catching up on sleep debt, your body will often compress sleep patterns to catch up on this much-needed REM sleep in fact the body is trying to save you.

You also need a certain amount of deep sleep. During the deepest stages of sleep, your body releases growth hormone to stimulate tissue repair and regeneration. This means that if you don’t get enough good quality sleep, it will adversely affect your physical health.

For instance, sleep debt makes you more likely to catch a cold or the flu. In fact, sleep deprivation can actually cause flu-like symptoms without an infection. Sleep debt even makes you more prone to heart disease and stroke. For more information check out this blog post.

Mood and Performance is Effected By Sleep Deprivation

Lack of sleep also affects your mood and your performance. It makes it harder for you to concentrate, which means you’re not as productive at work. Sleep debt can make you irritable or depressed and otherwise affect your mood. You even age more quickly when you don’t get enough sleep.

Another major problem with sleep debt is that it causes you to be more accident prone. About 100,000 automobile accidents occur due to sleep deprivation every year resulting in 1500 deaths and about $12.5 billion dollars in damages.

Numerous industrial accidents are also caused by a lack of sleep. The famous Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was not caused by alcohol as most people think. In the trial, it was found that sleepiness was the actual cause. It cost $2 billion dollars to clean up that spill and Exxon was fined $5 billion.

Are You Getting 8-9 Hour of Sleep Nightly?

The bad news is that one-half of all Americans suffer from some degree of insomnia and about one-third suffer from life-disrupting insomnia. So a large percentage of the population is suffering from sleep debt and/or poor quality sleep.

There are many factors that contribute to sleep problems. These include stress and anxiety, dehydration, a sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, the over use of stimulants like caffeine and artificial lighting. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or sleeping soundly, it’s important to examine your lifestyle and determine what you can do to get the sleep you need. Here are some tips to help you get a healthy night sleep every night.

Try Some of These Tips To Get Better Rest

Relax in the evening—listen to calming music, read a good book, let the brain slow down and relax to prepare for rest.

Bedroom needs to be dark and keep electrical equipment and digital clocks at least three feet away from the bed.  DO Not sleep with the TV or the lights on.

Hydration is important to calm the brain so I recommend drinking most of your water early in the day and only a small amount in the evening.  If getting up at night is a problem and you are drinking your liquid early in the day the kidneys may need support.  KB-C and Kidney Activator help to strengthen the kidneys so you are not missing sleep. 

My theory is that is you are getting up 1-3 times at night what is it going to be like in another 10 years, 20 years?  Let’s just fix it now and not have to worry about it.

Minerals Are a Key to Sleeping Better

Minerals taken in the evening will also help to relax the body and prepare it for rest.  Calcium and magnesium taken with calming herbs will help you get better rest.  Herbal Sleep, Valerian, Hops, Kava Kava, GABA, Nervous Fatigue, Melatonin, 5HTP and Passion Flower are some things that may help you get that much need rest. Word of caution, if you are taking chromium or a muti vitamin with it in the formula it may cause you not to sleep well. This does not happen to everyone but it is always good to check if it is causing a problem.

Eat small amount of protein before bed will help stabilize the blood sugar through the night.  Protein is the only food that will last for the 10-12 hours you are sleeping.

Keep temperature lower(about 60-68)in the bedroom.  During sleep your body’s internal temperature drops to its lowest level, generally about four hours after you fall asleep.

Relaxing Bath, Music and Essential Oil to Prepare for Sleep

Take bath or shower about 1-2 hours before bed, use relaxing essential oils in the bath.  Lavender, Rosemary, Rose Geranium, Roman Chamomile, Sandalwood, Clary-sage, Lemon, Chamomile, and more.

Avoid loud alarm clocks as it is stressful on your body to be suddenly jolted awake.  If you are getting good restful sleep you should not need to have an alarm clock as you should feel rested and wake up naturally.

Work to create new relaxing and calming habits that ensure you sleep good and get up refreshed and ready for a new day. It will make a huge difference in how you feel and your health will improve.