Cortisol is a stress hormone, it is primarily released in the body by the adrenal glands when we are under any kind of pressure or anxiety.
It is a hormone that enables us to become more attentive, awake, motivated, and responsive to our environment. Maintaining proper levels of cortisol is also very important as chronic high cortisol levels can lead to anxiety, sleep disorders, hormonal imbalances, and fertility problems.
Now we know what cortisol is, let us know more about its functions in the body :
· Helps us in keeping awake and alert
· It prevents brain fatigue
· Keeps our metabolism running
· Balances blood sugar levels
· Reduces inflammation and helps in healing
· Balances fluid levels based on water and salt intake
· Helps with the cognitive function of the brain like learning and memory formulation
· Allows us to respond and evade perceived dangers
· Helps in developing fetus during pregnancy
Cortisol takes care of such essential functions of our body that it is primordial to maintain its proper levels. Almost all modern age illnesses are a result of high stress resulting in inflammation and subsequently diabetes, cardiovascular, cancer, and many other diseases. Here are a few Symptoms of high cortisol level :
How to lower cortisol levels naturally :
1. Change your diet regime, stick to whole foods :
Processed food high in sugar and trans fat, leads to inflammation of organs, thus increasing cortisol levels. Change your diet to whole grains, veggies, and fruits. Buy gluten-free Agrophilia Quinoa. Following a diet rich in Anti-oxidants, fibers, essential micro-nutrients, healthy fats, and proteins reduce inflammation and maintain proper levels of cortisol in the body.
2. Reduce and Manage stress :
Needless to say, stress is the harbinger of many diseases,
Fortunately, we can manage stress easily by doing these simple natural stress relievers :
Meditation: There are numerous ways to meditate, the basis of any meditation is to focus on your breath, there might be different teachings by different people, follow the one you like. Meditation not only brings down the stress, but it also helps you focus and achieve mindfulness.
Acupressure: There are points in our body that when pressed releases blockages and relieves stress inside the body, this form of treatment is called Asian Bodywork Therapies (ABT). There are many kinds of ABTs like Acupuncture, Shiatsu, etc. These kinds of therapies have been prevalent for thousands of years in Asian countries to treat the human body, mind, and spirit.
Deep Breathing Exercise: Whenever you’re in a lot of stress or anxiety, the breathing becomes erratic, times like this, one should take control of breath and do deep breathing exercises, it calms you down immediately.
Spending time outdoors in nature: Studies show that physical settings play a role in stress reduction, and being in nature is a perfect setting to reduce stress. Take some time out of the day to go for a walk/ jog out in the open, gardening at home or any activity that takes you outdoors away from gadgets.
3. Exercise Regularly :
Exercising brings up your adrenaline and cortisol levels, it also brings them down to normal level afterward. This cycle helps your body better handle cortisol levels and gives your nervous system its own workout. The next time your stress hormones rise due to anxiety or any threat, your body will be able to reduce the cortisol to normal levels, since your body is already used to it while you exercise.
4. Use Superfoods
Superfoods are known to have high levels of anti-oxidants, a food rich in anti-oxidants help reduce body inflammation. Agrophilia provides a bunch of Superfoods that will help in keeping your cortisol levels in check.
Here are some of the superfoods you should know about for stress relief:
· Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds are rich in micro-nutrients like Magnesium and Zinc. These nutrients are known to improve the functionality of your nervous system, reduce stress, and induce restful sleep. As a result, they also help in improving libido by keeping cortisol levels managed.
· Basil seeds: Basil seeds are rich in flavonoids and other Anti-oxidants. They reduce inflammation of organs, by keeping the gut clean. They are rich in Fibre and also promote weight-loss.
· Quinoa seeds: Quinoa has low glycemic index, i.e. it doesn’t spike your sugar levels. It has high amounts of fibre and a complete protein profile, making it a perfect staple if you deal with high stress in your life. Quinoa’s texture and taste is similar to that of rice, so it becomes much easier to replace it with. Try Our Quinoa, and you’ll surely start seeing the difference.
5. Get enough sleep
Our body needs a certain amount of sleep to be productive, and with the kind of lifestyle we are leading into, our body requires its own sweet time to recuperate. The problem lies that most of us can’t get restful sleep, and are often wired and anxious at night and then fatigued during the day. With the steps listed above and followed well, you can change this cycle, our body should have high cortisol levels during the morning and low by night so that we can rest easy.
With the ongoing pandemic, there’s a lot of stress everyone is facing due to uncertainty. Everyone has their own share of problems building up and is leading to depression, anxiety, and stress. This situation has a domino effect on our physical and mental health. It is the time to analyze oneself and see how can they deal with it, we hope this article has shed some light on dealing with stress. Stay Healthy.