Cortisol and Stress: What’s the Connection?
Key hormone helps your body manage stress and energy
Key hormone helps your body manage stress and energy
You’ve probably heard cortisol referred to as the “stress hormone.” But the science behind cortisol’s reputation is much more complex.
Cortisol is an essential steroid hormone (glucocorticoid) secreted by the adrenal glands located above each kidney. It has many functions, including assisting the processes that control blood pressure, blood sugar and circadian rhythm, and suppressing inflammation.
Cortisol also plays a role in immune response and regulates glucose metabolism — the body’s distribution of glucose to power key organs.
“The all-encompassing role of cortisol is to provide your body with the ability to function,” says Pranjali Sharma, MD, an endocrinologist at Scripps Clinic Anderson Medical Pavilion in La Jolla. “I would call it a jack-of-all trades because it does so many different things.”
Cortisol’s role in flight-or-fight response
Cortisol is involved in the body’s stress response, but its “stress hormone” moniker is a little misleading, says Dr. Sharma. During a stressful event, adrenaline (a catecholamine) is released, triggering a “fight or flight” response. But that response is short-lived and the body, in turn, releases cortisol to remain in a heightened state.
“When your body perceives a stressful event, whether it’s a physical event or more of a general situation, it will respond first through the nervous system, based on the degree of threat that your body feels,” Dr. Sharma says. “So, you could have an acute response and then a more long-term response. That's where the connection between cortisol and stress comes in — your body needs energy to function in a stressful event, so cortisol is giving it the glucose that it needs to stay alert.”
When cortisol levels stay too high
A spike in cortisol — from exercise, for instance — is not necessarily a bad thing and can actually be beneficial. But when the cortisol level stays too high for too long, it can cause issues like diabetes, hypertension, infections, osteoporosis and may lead to sleep disturbances and extreme mood changes.
Common signs of elevated cortisol levels include muscle weakness and/or wasting, weight gain around the midsection and face, thick vertical reddish-purple stretch marks on the abdomen and thin skin that bruises easily.
If you suspect high cortisol levels, typically known as Cushing syndrome, consult your physician. Doctors can test a patient’s cortisol level by analyzing their saliva, blood or urine.
“When we’re evaluating for high cortisol, we are actually checking to see if your body is producing a normal amount of cortisol and if it is producing it in the right way,” says Dr. Sharma.
How to naturally balance cortisol
To balance cortisol levels naturally, Dr. Sharma recommends maintaining good sleep hygiene, eating healthy, exercising regularly, limiting screen time and taking 15 to 30 minutes a day to destress.
“Just try to live a healthy lifestyle,” she says.
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.