Cortisol and Stress

Filed under: Uncategorized - 21 Dec 2011  | Spread the word !

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Cortisol is a steroid hormone with important functions for our body. You may wonder why did I associate cortisol with stress. Well, you should know that cortisol is also known as the stress hormone, because it is being released under stress. So if you have a hectic lifestyle and a stressful job, you should think twice when getting mad or stressing over some minor detail. After all, health is the greatest treasure that you possess, and you would not want something to happen to you because of the cortisol level in your body.

The amount of cortisol in the blood suffers many variations, as the maximum level of cortisol is reached in the morning time, right after waking up, and the lowest level at about 3 hours after falling asleep, at night. Changing this pattern, regarding the cortisol level, can lead to depression and other medical problems. A high level of cortisol may cause high blood pressure or blood sugar. In some cases, cortisol can cause infertility, in women. You can see, thus, that it is important to get tested and to see where are you standing regarding to the cortisol level in your body. Do not worry, though, because the tests are very easy to make, as they only require you to give blood and urine samples, which will be processed in special laboratories in no time.

Cortisol is also important to treat some diseases, like Addison’s disease, allergies and inflammatory diseases. If, however, your cortisol level is too high, you should definitely try to balance it, because otherwise it can lead to severe medical problems. The best way to balance the cortisol level is to rest, to take a vacation and forget all about your daily problems. If you are constantly thinking about work, tasks and projects, you will not feel good, and the cortisol level will not be that good, either. They key to maintaining a normal cortisol level is, thus, to relax and to mix business with pleasure, in the sense that you must work, but you must have some fun once in a while, as well.

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Cortisol Role In The Human Body

Filed under: Uncategorized - 06 Dec 2011  | Spread the word !

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Cortisol is a hormone with an important role in the human body. Cortisol is secreted by adrenal glands and has a role in the immune system function, the function of the inflammatory system, the regulation of blood pressure, but one of the most important roles of cortisol is linked to stress forming. So, cortisol can be formed in response to stress, but a high level of stress will not be the only reason why cortisol will be released, in increased levels. In fact, you should know that cortisol usually has higher levels in the morning and lower ones at night, in normal conditions. 

Due to the fact that cortisol is most likely going to be released into the bloodstream when stress is experienced, cortisol is commonly known as the stress hormone. Although cortisol increasing is associated with stress forming, which is not considered to be very positive for the individual, when the hormone has an increased level in the body, positive effects such as a boost of energy, an increased memory capacity, as well as a lower sensitivity to pain and an increased function of the immune system, are going to be experienced. Stressful events can happen to all of us, on daily basis, and the reality is that stress is part of our every day life. Work tasks, family events, school projects, or different important situations in our lives can cause high levels of stress. Well, the problem is that stress is experienced so often that the body needs to issue cortisol in response to it, constantly, without being able to return to a normal state.

When high levels of cortisol are experienced, individuals can also experience some negative effects such as a high blood pressure, a lower immunity, but also hyperglycemia. Not all individuals will form the same levels of cortisol in response to stress, or various other reasons. Some people can react better to stress, compared to others, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a normal relaxation of mind is extremely important when it comes to your general health. And although reacting well to stress is not really simple, to make sure that you will never develop some serious diseases, you should at least try to find the ways to be less affected by it.

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