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3 Simple Ways to Reduce Cortisol, the Primary Stress Hormone
Avoid the all too real adverse impact of stress
Too much stress, too often? Chronic stress increases your cortisol levels, which can adversely impact your health and happiness.
Your body automatically releases cortisol, called the primary stress hormone, and adrenaline when you encounter stressful situations. According to the Mayo Clinic, this natural biochemical response primes the body to deal with danger by slowing digestion, reducing immune system function, flooding the system with glucose, narrowing the arteries, and increasing the heart rate, among other effects.
Once you’re out of danger, the body has a natural feedback loop that brings these hormones and functions back to baseline.
Unless you’re constantly stressed, fighting to keep up with a deluge of non-stop demands. If you live in a state of ongoing stress, your body won’t necessarily return to baseline. It will produce cortisol almost continuously because it never feels out of danger.
The Dangers of Consistently High Cortisol
Experts at the Mayo Clinic tell us that a consistently high cortisol level can be detrimental to your health.
