Today I want to talk about something we all experience on a daily basis; no matter who we are, what we eat, or where we come from, we as humans all experience stress. When taking a look at the modern lifestyle many of us are trying to keep up with, it's easy to see how stress can begin to rule our lives. We value productivity over play, constant connection over solitude, and consumerism over resourcefulness and creativity. We allow other people to decide what a successful life should look like, then spend all our time trying to live up to that expectation. We believe being busy is the only way to be successful, and many of us struggle to actually relax during that rare down time. Then when we do have down time, we fill it with things that are anything but restorative for our bodies. Instead we use it as a time to overindulge in things that can distract us from the stress of our daily lives. Some people binge on drugs and alcohol. Some people put all their extra energy into over exercising. For some its netflix, or social media, or the internet. Others use food as a comfort when feeling overwhelmed. Whatever your crutch may be, many of us are feeling the effects of chronic stress. If left unchecked, over time chronic stress will begin to take a toll on our body's health leading to a condition now known as adrenal fatigue. What is adrenal fatigue? And what exactly does it do to the body? Let me break it down:
What is adrenal fatigue?
Adrenal fatigue is what happens when the body is forced to function under a constant state of stress, depleting us of our emergency resources such as stored energy and nutrients, and leading to the body burning out and shutting down.
How does it start?
Stress begins in our nervous system.
The basics:
We have two different zones of operation in our nervous system. the Central Nervous System, which deals with our conscious self, and the Autonomic Nervous System, which deals with the subconscious. Today we are going to focus on the latter, the Autonomic Nervous System or ANS.
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) has two parts:
The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
- Triggered by stress, perceived danger, and foods like sugar and caffeine
- Controls your fight, flight, or freeze response
- Creates adrenaline and cortisol in stressful situations
- Burns glucose for fuel
The Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
- The rest, digest, and repair state
- Can be triggered by sleep, restorative activity, and deep breathing
- Burns fat for fuel
What happens when our SNS is triggered?
Adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) are released in the body
Adrenaline:
- Sends blood flow away from all other organs to our muscles so we have the energy for either fight or flight
- Raises our blood pressure, heart rate, dilates pupils, and creates heavy uncontrolled breathing
Cortisol:
- Pumps stored glucose to muscles to provide us with excess energy
- Controls our circadian rhythm and natural energy levels
Cortisol is what gives us that boost of energy to get out of bed in the morning, and again in the afternoon to push us through the middle of our day. If these stress hormones are continuously being released from chronic stress, our natural rhythm gets messed up. The body begins to release cortisol later and later, creating insomnia and chronic fatigue. Our other body systems begin to suffer as well. Instead of being given the time and energy to perform tasks such as digestion, and cell repair (things the body deems non-essential in the face of danger), our body is using all its resources (oxygen, nutrients, glucose, blood supply) to keep us "alive" in the face of the perceived danger (stress). The type of stress is insignificant to our body's biological response to it. You could be running away from a grizzly bear, or running late to work, once those stress hormones are released, the physical response is the same. That is why it is so important to develop stress management tools to deal with the drama of our daily lives and prevent our SNS from being constantly triggered.
The physical effects of adrenal fatigue:
- Moodiness, anger, and depression
- Weight gain: Many people use food as a way to relieve stress, seeking out certain "comfort foods" that are more likely high calorie, high sugar, and high fat
- Sugar cravings: the cortisol is using up all your stored glucose (sugar), leaving you to seek out the quickest energy source you can find (hello more sugar)
- Sleep disruption: Excess cortisol alters our circadian rhythm, giving us energy to stay up later and later and burn out during the day
- Increased cholesterol and blood pressure, leading to risk of cardiovascular disease
- Disrupted hunger hormones: increases grehlin (the hormone that tells us we're hungry) and decreases leptin (the hormone that lets us know when we're full)
- Lower libido & menstruation disruption: our reproductive cycle is heavily linked to our hormones. when they are being produced at unnatural rates, it throws everything out of whack.
- Joint pain & inflammation: due to excess glucose constantly being flushed to our muscles
- IBS & digestive issues: the energy it takes to digest our food is being used to fight the stress instead, leading to neglect of our digestive system
- Poor immunity leading to higher risk of infections
The main idea you can see behind all these symptoms is that our body simply does not have the energy to properly take care of its other functions when dealing with chronic stress. It's easy to see how all these effects are linked. When all our energy is used up, each body system suffers. It's important to keep in mind that every body is different and some of us are more susceptible to certain things than others. Therefore adrenal fatigue looks a little different on everybody. Maybe you experience severe IBS when undergoing stress, while your partner tends to put on weight. It is important to know yourself to heal yourself. Adopting and committing to simple lifestyle changes and creating boundaries in your life is a great way to tackle some of these serious health concerns.
Tips to Manage Stress in your Life:
For the Sleepless Nighters:
- Develop a night time routine before bed to let your body know it is time to rest. This can include making your favorite cup of tea, meditating, some gentle yoga, journaling, reading a chapter of your favorite book, or anything else that relaxes you and sets you away from the stress of your day. Setting a firm boundary between your daytime productivity and your nighttime relaxation is key to getting a goodnight sleep. No one needs to be answering stressful work emails right before bed.
- Be in bed at the same time each night even if you aren't ready for sleep. Consistency is key in order to rewire your natural circadian rhythm
- Try different herbal teas & essential oils to relax and unwind. Some herbs that are great for relaxation are ashwaganda, reishi, tulsi, chamomile, and lavender. CBD oil has also become a popular way to help those with stress and insomnia.
- No phones an hour before bed. The blue light from our cellphone actually tricks our body into thinking it is still light out and halts melatonin production (the hormone that regulates our sleep cycle). Instead of scrolling through instagram or checking emails, try reading a book instead to naturally wind down. If you need your phone as an alarm clock, go to the store and buy an old fashion one. If you must have your phone in your bedroom, set it on airplane mode or look into getting a blue light filter app.
For the Busy Brains:
- Meditating just 5 minutes a day is a great tool for managing stress and anxiety. Don't feel you have the time? Start with one minute a day, gradually move up to 5, then ten. Once you start feeling the amazing benefits of this practice, you will make the time for it. Remember meditation looks different on everyone. Find a technique that works for you; there is no wrong way to do it. Some great meditation apps to keep you on track are Headspace, Calm, or Insight Timer. I use insight timer because it is FREE :D
- Breathe: Did you know that breathing through your diaphragm signals your body to trigger your parasympathetic nervous system (the rest, digest, & repair)? Deep, conscious breathing throughout the day can help slow down your body's quick response to stress. Try breathing in for 4 counts, holding for 3, then breathing out for 4 counts a few times during stressful situations. Alternate nostril breathing (known in yoga as nadi shodhana) is also a great technique to try
- If you simply have too much going on in your life, check in with some simple time management techniques. Use a weekly planner or calendar to write down all your tasks and split them up into more doable chunks. Plan to accomplish no more than 3 tasks a day, starting with the most difficult.
Journaling in the morning or before bed is also a great way to get things off your mind. It also helps channel your creative side and work through issues you may be facing in your life. Some people like to write down everything they need to do the next day before bed as a way to relax and get better sleep. That way they don't need to lay awake worrying about what the next day will bring.
For the Coffee Drinkers
- Make sure you are buying a quality, organic coffee
- No coffee in the morning until you've gotten something in your stomach, preferably a high fat breakfast instead of a breakfast loaded with carbs. Quit your caffeine intake after 3 pm to give your adrenals time to wind down before bed.
- Go bullet proof: Bullet proof coffee is a type of coffee that is spiked with fat such as unsalted butter, ghee, and MCT oil. Fat in coffee? Sounds weird, but it actually helps to stabilize your hormones, curb your appetite, and give you cleaner, longer lasting energy. For the full story behind bullet proof coffee and the benefits click here
- Four Sigmatic is also a coffee brand to try if you love coffee, but hate the adrenal burnout. Four Sigmatic uses medicinal mushrooms such as reishi, chaga, cordyceps, and lions mane that naturally help your body adapt to stress, and feel energized. For more information about Four Sigmatic's products click here
For Everybody:
- DIET: Watch how much sugar you are including in your diet. Too much sugar messes with our hormones by constantly sending our blood sugar soaring and crashing throughout the day. Sometimes we may even confuse the stress created from the sugar for things happening in our life, creating unnecessary drama that no one needs. For tips on how to naturally crowd out sugary foods, check out my Hidden Sugars Cheat Sheet
- EXERCISE: Get out and move everyday! Find a workout you enjoy so that you actually look forward to exercising instead of dreading it. Movement looks different for everyone so don't be intimidated to try something new and challenge yourself. It can be as simple as talking a walk around your neighborhood, going to a yoga or cycling class, or playing a group sport with your family and friends. Take ten minutes during your lunch break to stretch or walk around the building. On the flip side, if you are someone who feels chronically tired but is still forcing yourself to the gym everyday, try to scale back and practice a more gentle exercise. Over exercising triggers the survival mechanism in our body, causing us to hold on to extra fat, making it difficult to loose weight. This can become very frustrating and cause even more stress.
- RELATIONSHIPS: Take some time to consider the relationships in your life. Which ones are taking more energy than they are giving? It is perfectly natural to grow and change throughout life, so it should be the same with our relationships. Who have you outgrown? Who do you need to set some boundaries with? Maybe instead of chatting with that one friend who stresses you out everyday, you call her once a week instead. Instead of letting your in laws stop at your house whenever they want, you ask them to call first. Setting boundaries with existing relationships, and letting go of the ones that are no longer serving you is a great way to manage stress in your life.
Change our Perception:
Any way you look at it, stress is pretty much an unavoidable part of life. That is why being aware of the dangers of chronic stress, and incorporating techniques to help manage it are so important to living a healthy life. As a society we devalue rest, and shame those who don't appear to be working hard. We feel we have to struggle to have what we need, and if we don't then we do not deserve happiness. We always feel like we have to get to the next place we're going all at once, instead of just enjoying where we are. I believe this narrative plays a huge role in the chronic stress our population faces. We put so much pressure on ourselves to appear perfect, forgetting what we really want in the process. Are you truly living each day for you, making time for the things you need to feel your very best? Or are you letting others write the script? How can you learn to slow down and accept imperfection? It truly is up to you. Let me know in the comments below or by visiting my contact page!
xxoo,
The Homemade Sage