He Cortisol Is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. Its implications in the organism are multiple and its main function is to increase the level of blood sugar and help the metabolism of fats.
Likewise, it plays a particularly important role in stress states, becoming the hormone that we release the most in these situations.
Although you have a high level of stress, you can have a proper treatment, control blood cortisol and decrease its effects. If you act to combat it you can avoid its negative consequences.
We will explain what are the characteristics of this hormone, what role a high cortisol plays in the functioning of the body, its causes and what we can do to make its level low and benefit our physical and mental health.
What is cortisol?
Cortisol, also known as hydrocortisone, is a hormone in our body.
Specifically, it consists of a Glucocorticoid hormone , That is to say, it is one of the hormones that are in charge of the regulation of the metabolism of carbohydrates favoring the gluconeogénesis and suppressing the activity of the immune system.
Like all hormones, cortisol is secreted in a particular area of the body, which is responsible for its production.
Specifically, cortisol is secreted by the reticular zone and stored in the fascicular area of the Adrenal cortex , The outermost part of the adrenal gland located in the kidneys.
At the same time, the release of cortisol from the adrenal gland is controlled by the Hypothalamus , A specific region of the brain human .
This connection between the adrenal gland and the hypothalamus is of vital importance in order to properly understand the relationship between the brain and the human body, two structures that continually feed back.
Thus, in situations of stress, the hypothalamus is activated due to the nervousness And the external demands to which the brain is being subjected.
By activating the hypothalamus, it stimulates the adrenal gland, and encourages the secretion of cortisol, which is why it is released more when we are anxious.
It may seem strange how a part of the brain can so immediately activate a region of the kidneys when we are subjected to states of stress .
Obviously, the functioning of the human organism is very complex, and the connection between the hypothalamus and the adrenal gland, between brain and kidney, is not linked by a magic direct way of information exchange.
In fact, the way the message"I'm stressed"to get out of the brain and get to the kidney is a bit longer and more complex.
The hypothalamus, in the face of stress, secretes a hormone called Corticotropin (CRH).
This hormone is released into our brain (hypothalamus) and is carried through the blood to the hypophysis , An endocrine gland located at the base of the skull.
When corticotropin-releasing hormone reaches the pituitary gland, it immediately releases another hormone, the adrenal hormone corticotropin (ACTH).
This second hormone leaves the pituitary and is transported through the blood to the adrenal cortex.
When this hormone reaches the kidney, the secretion of glucocorticoids is stimulated, so the brain has already managed to connect with the kidney so that it releases more cortisol in our body.
Thus, we can observe a relationship between cortisol levels and stress states, which occurs through a hormone release cascade that starts in the brain and ends in the kidney.
What does cortisol do in the body?
Cortisol is a hormone that all people segregamos and that we need for the correct functioning of the organism.
In fact, cortisol performs regulatory functions in the body that are vitally important.
Especially, it plays a key role in the metabolism of glucose And in the regulation of blood sugar.
As was shown in the Colorado State University , Cortisol stimulates the production of glucose in the liver, moves specific amino acids from the tissues to the liver to be used in the production of glucose to feed the cells of the body.
Also, cortisol is the hormone that allows halting the absorption of glucose when it needs to be preserved for survival and is capable of starting the breakdown of fats in cells for energy production.
In other words, the main function of cortisol is to extract from the food ingested the energy needed to function properly.
So, if cortisol did not circulate through our blood, we could not produce glucose, so the cells of our body could not be fed, our tissues would not benefit from the substances ingested and no matter how much we ate we would not feed ourselves.
Therefore, cortisol plays a fundamental role in the correct development of our body because it allows us to transform the nutrients we ingest into food for the tissues.
Also, cortisol also plays a very important role in regulating blood pressure.
As a study published in the journal"Hypertension"shows, cortisol levels regulate blood pressure levels.
Thus, elevated levels of cortisol are associated with elevated blood pressure levels, low cortisol levels with low blood pressure levels and optimal cortisol levels with good blood circulation in our body.
This fact has motivated many investigations that have shown how an excessively high release of cortisol can easily produce hypertension , So an optimal release of this hormone in our body is important for physical health.
Other important functions of cortisol in the body are as follows:
Help the Homeostasis Water and Electrolytes (Small substances containing the ions).
It increases the level of sugar in the blood through the Gluconeogenesis (A process by which cortisol synthesizes glucose).
Suppresses the action of immune system .
Decreases bone formation.
As we see, cortisol performs very important actions for the correct functioning of the human organism.
However, this does not mean that the more cortisol we have the more benefits our body will have.
Like all hormones, its excess can be as negative as its absence, since it can alter the functioning of processes of the organism as important as the ones just discussed.
Also, if we analyze the actions of cortisol we can see how some of them can be harmful if they are done in excess.
We are not interested in the fact that the blood pressure is excessively high, nor that the action of the immune system is constantly suppressed or the bone formation is constantly diminished.
In this way, cortisol is a hormone totally essential in certain moments, especially in those in which the body needs to metabolize glucose to feed the tissues.
However, the body does not need to perform this process continuously, so there will be times when it will be convenient to have high levels of cortisol and times when it will be convenient for them to decrease.
What does cortisol do when we are stressed?
As we have commented, in stressful situations, the adrenal gland and the hypothalamus are connected by a cascade of hormones.
This way, when we live in a situation of stress, our brain sends signals to our kidney so that it increases the release of cortisol.
Therefore, when we are stressed, there are higher amounts of cortisol circulating in the blood of our body.
The human body does not perform this process in vain, since the greater release of cortisol has an adaptive value, ie our brain decides to tell our kidneys to increase the release of cortisol to meet a goal.
This goal relates to the primary reaction of humans to stressful situations that require an increase in anxiety and activation.
In this way, our mind perceives stressful situations as moments of emergency in which our body has to be more activated in order to respond effectively.
Some examples would be the anxiety that appears before the threat of a real danger, in which our body prepares to have the energy necessary to be able to respond effectively to that threat.
However, this adaptive function of our body functions properly at times of anxiety, in which the body is activated more than normal for a certain period of time, but returns to normal when the threat has disappeared.
In these situations, the greatest release of cortisol occurs during a short period of stress (while the state of nervousness lasts) and is restored when the Anxiety has disappeared.
However, the term stress does not refer to specific states of anxiety, but rather the opposite.
Stress is understood as a permanent and prolonged state in the time of anxiety, nervousness and agitation.
Therefore, when we are stressed, the release of cortisol increases continuously, so that its levels are increasing and do not return to their initial state.
Thus, under stress, our brain interprets the existence of a constant threat, so the adrenal gland releases cortisol continuously to provide at all times the necessary energy to the body.
However, really, in many stressful moments our body does not need an increase of energy since there is no real threat.
Thus, the body begins to produce large amounts of cortisol without any real physical reason, so that the hormone begins to harm our body.
And is that the excess of cortisol in blood produces negative effects like the exaggerated elevation of blood sugar, the increase of blood pressure , the osteoporosis , Excessive hair production or the generation of stretch marks on the skin of the abdomen.
Also, elevated levels of cortisol can cause water retention in the eyelids, muscle weakness, weight gain in the trunk and physical exhaustion.
Therefore, stress not only damages mental health, but can also damage physical health in a direct way through the action of cortisol.
How can we reduce cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone that acts according to the needs of our body, so that its production can be regulated through certain behaviors.
As we have seen, elevated levels of cortisol carry great physical problems, so in order to decrease we will have to increase the care of our body.
Thus, just as certain behaviors can become unfavorable to health through the increase of cortisol, others can become healthy behaviors that will reduce it.
There is a wide variety of hypotheses about factors that may influence the production of cortisol; however, the most important may be divided into three major groups.
1. Avoid stress
Obviously, as we have seen throughout the article, if you are stressed your cortisol levels will increase, so if you are not protect your body more from the increase of this hormone.
Thus, it is important to avoid stress as well as to catch it in time when it begins to appear.
Try to fill your agenda with a number of activities that you can do in a healthy way without exceeding, spend a little time every day doing things that you like, organize well and perform relaxation or meditation exercises when anxiety takes over.
2. Eat healthily
Cortisol plays a fundamental role in the metabolism of food so these are also important in predicting the functioning of this hormone.
Try not to abuse products that contain large amounts of caffeine, reduce the amount of processed foods, moderate consumption of Carbohydrates Refined as white bread, chocolate or sweets, and hydrate well during the day.
3. Exercise
An investigation of"The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition"showed that practicing physical activity allows blood levels of cortisol to be reduced.
However, it was also shown that excessive or intense physical exercise had an opposite effect and increased it.
Thus, to reduce cortisol levels it is recommended to exercise regularly but not to exceed 45 minutes of training.
References
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