How to lower cortisol levels to live longer and better

What is cortisol

CortisolL. Thau, J. Gandhi, S. Sharma. Physiology, Cortisol / StatPearls It is the main human glucocorticoid hormone, which is produced in the adrenal cortex and regulates the body's response to stress.

At rest in men producedL. I. McKay, J. A. Cidlowski. Pharmacokinetics of Corticosteroids / Holland‑Frei Cancer Medicine. 6th edition 15-20 mg of this hormone per day, and in women - 10% less. Cortisol levels rise closer to 6–8 am, locatedN. L. Sin, A. D. Ong, R. S. Stawski. Daily positive events and diurnal cortisol rhythms: Examination of between‑person differences and within‑person variation / Psychoneuroendocrinology at peak in 30–60 minutes after waking up, and then gradually decreases and reaches the lowest values ​​by midnight.

In response to danger, real or imagined, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland instruct the adrenal glands to produce cortisol - and its plasma levels increasesL. I. McKay, J. A. Cidlowski. Pharmacokinetics of Corticosteroids / Holland‑Frei Cancer Medicine. 6th edition several times.

The hormone is released into the bloodstream to prepare the body for bad times: provideL. Thau, J. Gandhi, S. Sharma. Physiology, Cortisol / StatPearls energy in the form of glucose, which may be needed to fight or flee, and decreaseR. H. Oakley, J. A. Cidlowski. The Biology of the Glucocorticoid Receptor: New Signaling Mechanisms in Health and Disease / The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology inflammation on injury.

In addition, cortisol suppressesChronic stress puts your health at risk / Mayo Clinic work of the digestive and reproductive systems, slows growth. In other words, "turns off" everything that is not needed in dangerous situations.

When the threat is gone, cortisol returnsL. I. McKay, J. A. Cidlowski. Pharmacokinetics of Corticosteroids / Holland‑Frei Cancer Medicine. 6th edition back to normal within 1-2 hours. But if stressors do not disappear, the main glucocorticoid may remain elevated for a long time. And this is very bad.

How High Cortisol Can Harm Your Body

Big emotional load at work, constant quarrels in the family, any long-term stress can raise cortisol levels for a long time and cause:

1. Decline in cognitive abilities. Chronically elevated cortisol worsensS. Owens, J. Popp. High Cortisol and the Risk of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of the Literature / Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience memory of personal information (episodic), places and directions (spatial), the ability concentrate and adjust behavior taking into account the goal, the speed of information processing and social knowledge. Person becomesP. Morgado, J. J. Cerqueira. Editorial: The Impact of Stress on Cognition and Motivation / Frontiers Behavioral Neuroscience less flexible and pattern-driven, misses context and accepts bad solutions.
2. Weight gain and the development of metabolic syndrome. Cortisol promotesE. S. Valk, M. Savas, E. F. C. van Rossum. Stress and Obesity: Are There More Susceptible Individuals? / Current Obesity Reports volume accumulation of belly fat (abdominal obesity), increases cravings for sugary and fatty foods, and may causeI. Jeong. The Role of Cortisol in the Pathogenesis of the Metabolic Syndrome / Diabetes and metabolism journal To metabolic syndrome A condition in which insulin sensitivity is reduced, blood pressure rises, and the risk of type II diabetes and heart disease increases.
3. Mental disorders. High cortisol watching1. K. A. Dienes, N. A. Hazel. Cortisol Secretion in Depressed and At‑Risk Adults / Psychoneuroendocrinology
   2. A. G. Bertollo, R. E. Grolli, M. E. Plissari. Stress and serum cortisol levels in major depressive disorder: a cross‑sectional study / AIMS Neuroscience in patients with depression and those at risk for this disorder. Also, a too strong response to stress can leadChronic stress puts your health at risk / Mayo Clinic to development anxiety disorder.
4. Decreased immunity. While acute stress may reduce inflammation, prolonged stress, on the contrary, suppressesA. Vitlic, J. M. Lord. Stress, aging and their influence on functional, cellular and molecular aspects of the immune system / Age (Dordr) immunity and makes the body vulnerable to various diseases.
5. Premature aging. Researchers figured outA. J. Tomiyama A. O'Donovan, J. Lin. Does cellular aging relate to patterns of allostasis? An examination of basal and stress reactive HPA axis activity and telomere length / Physiology and behaviorthat high levels of cortisol due to prolonged stress is associated with shortened telomeres - the end sections of chromosomes that protect DNA from damage. Reduction of telomeres due to nervous tension in the long term can lead to premature cell death. aging and the development of various diseases.

Thus, high levels of cortisol can seriously harm the body, and therefore stress must be dealt with. Fortunately, almost anyone can do this.

How to Lower Cortisol on Your Own

There are several scientifically proven methods to reduce the amount of stress hormone. Try them all.

get enough sleep

Lack and poor quality of sleep increaseC. Hirotsu, S. Tufik, M. L. Andersen. Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions / Sleep Science cortisol levels, so it is very important to fully rest 7-8 hours per night.

To well get enough sleep, useSleep tips: 6 steps to better sleep / Mayo Clinic proven methods:

• Go to bed and get up at the same time.
• Don't eat before bed, but don't go to bed hungry either.
• Eliminate alcohol, especially in the evening.
• Make sure the bedroom is quiet, dark and cool.
• If you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes, do something calm, like read. Lie down again only when you feel sleepy.

Also keep in mind that high cortisol levels due to psychological stress often result in sleep loss. In order not to get stuck in a vicious cycle of sleepless nights and too active glucocorticoids, you can apply proven techniques to deal with stress.

Do breathing exercises

Studies have shown that deep breathing techniques help switch1. G. K. Pal, S. v. Madanmohan. Effect of short‑term practice of breathing exercises on autonomic functions in normal human volunteers / The Indian journal of medical research
2. A. Zaccaro A. Piarulli, M. Laurino. How Breath‑Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho‑Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing / Frontiers in human neuroscience autonomic nervous system to the parasympathetic division - the one that dominates in a calm state.

In one experiment, 90 minutes of such exercises once a week significantly loweredv. Perciavalle, M. Blandini, P. Fecarotta. The role of deep breathing on stress / Neurological sciences cortisol levels and heart rate of the subjects, and also had a good effect on mood.

To get started, try the simplest breathing technique - "Square". Inhale for four counts (seconds or heart beats). Then hold the air in the lungs for the same time. Now, for four counts, take an exhalation and another breath-hold. As you get used to it, you can increase the number of accounts in the square - for example, up to six or eight.

meditate

There are a lot of meditation techniques, but in fact they are all aimed at awareness development - the ability to concentrate on the present moment, and not float away thoughts into the past or future.

Researchers figured outT. L. Jacobs, P. R. Shaver, E. S. epel. Self‑reported mindfulness and cortisol during a Shamatha meditation retreat / Health Psychologythat mindfulness is directly related to cortisol levels in the evenings. The more people were in the present moment, the less stress they experienced. Scientists assumedMindfulness from meditation associated with lower stress hormone / Science Dailythat this happens because of the lack of worries about the past and the future.

In another experiment involving medical students, just four days of mindfulness meditation significantly reducedW. Turakitwanakan, C. Mekseepralard, P. Busarakumtragul. Effects of mindfulness meditation on serum cortisol of medical students / Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand production of cortisol.

Meta-analysis of 10 studies showedA. Koncz, Z. Demetrovics, Z. K. Takacs. Meditation interventions efficiently reduce cortisol levels of at-risk samples: a meta-analysis / Health Psychology Reviewthat meditation significantly reduces the level of the stress hormone in people who are faced with problems - physical or mental ailments and difficult life circumstances.

In general, start meditating for 5-10 minutes a day. Just focus on your breath, body sensations, or some external objects, such as the sounds of the ocean, trying to stay in the present moment as much as possible and not swim away in thoughts.

be creative

Participants in one experiment providedG. Kaimal, K. Ray, J. Muniz. Girija Kaimal, Kendra Ray, and Juan Muniz / Art Therapy materials for creating a collage, modeling glue and markers and asked to do something - whatever you want. After 45 minutes, the papers were collected, and the subjects' cortisol levels were checked. It turned out that the stress hormone decreased significantly, and its decline did not depend on whether people had creative experience.

Draw, make collages, paint. It doesn't matter what you create. The main thing is to immerse yourself in the process and enjoy it.

Try expressive writing

It’s about putting everything that has accumulated onto paper without worrying about grammar: thoughts about the problems and traumatic events of the past, assessing one’s emotions, reasoning about causes and consequences. The procedure has a strictly defined duration, for example 15 minutes, during which you can not stop, even if it seems that there is nothing more to write.

Researchers checkedJ. M. Smith, J. R. Hockemeyer, H. Tulloch. Expressive writing and post‑traumatic stress disorder: effects on trauma symptoms, mood states, and cortisol reactivity / British journal of health psychologywhether such a technique would help people with post-traumatic stress disorder. After a session of expressive writing, symptoms PTSD They didn’t go anywhere, but thoughts about negative events spoiled people’s mood much less, and cortisol levels decreased.

If unpleasant memories make you nervous, try this method. Just be sure to include in the story your experiences at that moment and now, analyze what happened, its causes and impact on your personality and life. It is this, and not a dry retelling of events, that will help get rid of from stress.