Cortisol

Six Tips To Lowering Your Cortisol Production:

If you’re anything like me, you may be vulnerable to stress.  I care about a lot of things.  And when I care, I care A LOT.  And while I try to incorporate yogic breathing and relaxation techniques on a daily basis, I sometimes need outside reminders that stressing about things, even things I deem important, takes its toll upon our health and bodies.

Here, please find an excerpt from some information I’ve personally found useful to lowering cortisol levels naturally.  As you may know, cortisol has its clear uses, but in our day and age we don’t always utilize it for its intended purpose (read: we don’t need it to run from tigers) and we often just build it up in silly situations like work and traffic where it then circulates our system, wreaking havoc on our joints and cells.

“Cherniske and Talbott both emphasize the importance of increasing our “anabolic” metabolism, the rebuild, repair and restore cycle, to reverse the consequences of elevated stress hormones and aging. Cherniske likens the anabolic/catabolic metabolic model to a seesaw. You want to have the anabolic side of the seesaw up in the air and the catabolic or breakdown and degeneration side down as low as it can go. Here are 6 tips that give you the top recommendations to decrease cortisol levels and thus catabolic metabolism while you increase anabolic metabolism and experience optimal health.

 

 

1. Eliminate caffeine from your diet. It’s the quickest way to reduce cortisol production and elevate the production of DHEA, the leading anabolic youth hormone. 200 mg of caffeine (one 12 oz mug of coffee) increases blood cortisol levels by 30% in one hour! Cortisol can remain elevated for up to 18 hours in the blood. This is the easiest step to decrease your catabolic metabolism and increase your anabolic metabolism.

 

2. Sleep deeper and longer. The average 50 year old has nighttime cortisol levels more than 30 times higher than the average 30 year old. Try taking melatonin, a natural hormone produced at night that helps regulate sleep/wake cycles, before going to sleep to boost your own melatonin production that also decreases with age. I prefer Source Natural Sublingual Melatonin and I always take it on trips to recover from jet lag. You may not need it every night, but if you are waking up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning, melatonin can help you sleep deeper and lengthen your sleep cycle. If you get sleepy during the day even though you had plenty of rest, back off the melatonin for a while. It’s a sign you are getting too much.

 

3. Exercise regularly to build muscle mass and increase brain output of serotonin and dopamine, brain chemicals that reduce anxiety and depression. Cherniske recommends DHEA to shorten the adaptation period when out-of-shape muscles and cardiovascular system discourage people from continuing to exercise before they get in shape. DHEA also accelerates the building of muscle mass and increases the feeling of being strong and energetic.

 

4. Keep your blood sugar stable. Avoid sugar in the diet and refined carbohydrates to keep from spiking your insulin production. Eat frequent small meals balanced in protein, complex carbohydrates and good fats like olive oil and flax seed oil. Diets rich in complex carbohydrates keep cortisol levels lower than low carbohydrate diets. Keep well hydrated – dehydration puts the body in stress and raises cortisol levels. Keep pure water by your bed and drink it when you first wake up and before you go to sleep.

 

5. Take anti-stress supplements like B vitamins, minerals like calcium, magnesium, chromium and zinc, and antioxidants like vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, grape seed extract, and Co Q 10. Adaptogen herbs like ginseng, astragalus, eleuthero, schizandra, rhodiola and ashwagandha help the body cope with the side effects of stress and rebalance the metabolism. These supplement and herbs will not only lower cortisol levels but they will also help you decrease the effects of stress on the body by boosting the immune system.

 

6. Meditate or listen to relaxation tapes that promote the production of alpha (focused alertness) and theta (relaxed) brain waves. Avoid jolting alarm clocks that take you from delta waves (deep sleep) to beta waves (agitated and anxious) and stimulants like caffeine that promote beta waves while suppressing alpha and theta waves.”

Previously collected from: <http://www.womenshealth-naturalsolutions.com/6_tips_to_cut_your_cortisol_production.htm>
Unfortunately, this now appears to be a dead link. 😦
I would like to credit the proper source here, as this information has been very helpful for me!