Cortisol and Stress: Understanding the Link and How to Manage It
This page includes affiliate links, including those from Amazon and other affiliate programs. This means that Intellectual Ignorance may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting our work!
Do you know according to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), one quarter of Canadians, that is 1 in 4, feel stressed most of the days, and women are leading in this, as they are more likely to experience stress. But both men and women face their own stressors.
For women, it is most likely a family issues, while for men, it may be related to work. Even the youth is not prone to it, 14% of young Canadians feel high stress because of school, other activities, and jobs.
With all of this, the reasons are just not limited to those mentioned there can be many other reasons for chronic stress. But there is a chemical that is very common and is responsible for stress, It is called “cortisol” also known as “stress hormone”.
This post will explore the science behind stress, how prolonged stress known as chronic stress can have serious effects on body and health, and practical ways to manage it.
Illustration showing different areas of the brain such as Amygdala and Hypothalamus involved in the stress response.
What is stress?
According to the WHO website, stress can be defined as “A state of worry or mental tension caused due to difficult situation”. Worrying is a pretty normal response to challenging and hard situations in life. But worrying too much for longer period of time can lead to some serious health issues.
Types of Stress
There are lots of different sources that categorize stress into many different categories, but on MedlinePlus, the US government official site, stress is only classified into 2 different types:
Acute stress: As clear from the name, it is the short-term or short-lived stress that generally goes and comes quickly. It can be both positive and negative.
Some good examples might be like a preparation for a nervous job interview that can trigger stress or speaking in front of a crowd when you have never done it. Everyone in their life experiences acute stress from time to time.
Chronic stress: It is a stress that lasts for longer period of time, like weeks, months, and even for years. People can become so used to it that they don't even know that they are going through it, and these days it is very common in people without them even knowing it.
There can be many reasons for chronic stress, like financial pressure, conflicts in relationships, or even some long-pending court case. It is really important to recognize it and treat it because it may lead to serious health issues if untreated.
Body Response to Stress
When faced with stressful situations, as mentioned above, body triggers “fight or flight” mode or vice versa. Fight or fight mode is the term you have probably heard; it is actually a survival mechanism that is triggered by our brain in response to threats.
It is named so because in past times when humans were just evolving, or what we call early humans, they had to be attentive to fight against external threats like animas and attacks, so it was developed and evolved in our brain to help us protect and react quickly to life-threatening situations.
The Amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for processing emotions, upon receiving a stress signal sends a signal to the hypothalamus stating something like “Listen, there is something wrong." This is basically the part that you can call a helper, and it talks with our body to control things such as breathing and heartbeat. It tells our body to be ready to send signals through our autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system has two main parts:
Sympathetic Nervous System: This is what is responsible for triggering the fight or flight response; in this, our heart beats fast to help us breathe quicker and to get our muscles ready to move; in short, it provides energy to respond to dangers.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: It basically does opposite and calms our body, slows our heartbeat, and helps us breathe. So in general, help us to relax.
Then it activates the sympathetic nervous system, by sending signals through autonomic nerves to adrenal glands to release a special chemical you all have probably heard it a lot called “adrenaline” into our blood stream.
Adrenaline, also called epinephrine, brings lots of changes into our body as it flows through our body. Such as a faster heartbeat, an increase in blood pressure, and opening small airways of the lungs wide so that we can take as much oxygen as possible.
Cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” increases glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream, which provides a quick energy source for the brain and muscles. So basically all these changes go inside our body very fast that we are not even aware of them.
But that can be really bad in some situations, as described above, and if it happens too much, like a very often release of cortisol, these responses can be really harmful and can lead to bad consequences like anxiety, depression, bad sleep, and chronic stress.
Effective Stress Management Techniques to Lower Cortisol
Mental Health
Research shows that chronic stress can lead to changes in the cortisol level of the brain. Chronic stress can dysregulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which can further lead to an alteration in cortisol levels that may result in aggressive behavior, and an alteration in cortisol can disrupt other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin that are responsible for making us feel good.
Changes in epigenetic
This is one of the points that I found interesting, stress affects our epigenetics. To explain this, consider your genes as a set of instructions, and epigenetics as an instructor that signals them to turn on or off without making a change in actual DNA.
When we are under chronic stress, genes that produce mood regulation neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin can be suppressed as discussed above, and if it happens often it can lead to persistent low mood and increase the chances of depression and anxiety.
These stress-induced epigenetics can sometimes also be passed down to the offsprings and to coming generations, which means they can also predispose future generations to mood disorders.
Cognitive impairments
In a study where researchers subjected mice to chronic restraint stress, they observed that it triggered the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, which led to deficits in spatial working memory and nesting behavior in mice.
This study showed that chronic stress can affect the functions of hippocampus, which may result in problems in memory, focus, and learning abilities.
Physical health
Stress can disrupt the digestive system, causing symptoms such as stomach pain, bloating, nausea, diarrhea, or constipation. It may also exacerbate conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and acid reflux.
Chronic stress suppresses the immune system, making the body more vulnerable to infections and illnesses. This suppression can lead to an increased frequency of colds, flu, and other immune-related conditions.
Practical ways to manage stress
Mindfulness and meditation
Studies show that 10-15 minutes of daily mindfulness can be helpful in lowering cortisol levels and improving emotional regulation. It helps to shift the body into a restful state from fight and fight state.
Activities like meditation, breathing exercises, and body scans can be very helpful in calming the body.
Regular physical activity
You have probably heard this point in every health advice list, but it is as important as it sounds. Doing regular physical exercise helps the body to create harmonies that are responsive to feeling good, and it also keeps us fit for longer periods of time in life.
Sleep hygiene
Maintaining a good sleep cycle is very crucial because it balances the cortisol level in the body; otherwise, disrupted sleep cycles and disrupted circadian rhythms can lead to high cortisol levels throughout the day.
Balanced diet
A study found out that people who increased fruit and vegetable intake and reduced fat consumption have experienced a decline in cortisol and anxiety when compared to people who didn’t.
This study shows that we should include more healthy foods into our diet, like berries, oranges, and leafy green vegetables, and reduce the intake of foods that have tarns fats.
Getting into nature
The Harvard Medical School site suggests that spending 20 to 30 minutes in nature can lead to a decrease in cortisol level and can regulate the mood.
Tools and products to manage stress at home
Weighted blankets
Some studies show that weighted blankets may be effective in reducing anxiety and stress in some situations. These are designed in a way to provide a gentle, relaxing sensation the idea is to make it feel like an actual comforting hug.
Deep pressure simulation can help reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and lower the cortisol levels.
Books and apps
In the digital era, there are some really effective apps that are designed for stress management and can help you with mindfulness and meditation, apps like headspace, and calm can be very helpful. There are also some books that would provide you with really good insights and practical tips to manage stress and anxiety.
Coping with Anxiety: Ten Simple Ways to Relieve Anxiety, Fear, and Worry
The Stress-Proof Brain: Master Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity
Conclusion
Managing stress can be challenging it is more than just a mental exercise, it's a journey that involves knowing the science (case) behind it and practical ways to manage it.
With a busy life, nobody is protected from it, from adults to children, everyone has their own struggles with stress. By exploring and practicing activities like mindfulness, exercise, good sleep hygiene, a balanced diet, and time in nature, we can actively work to reduce stress and manage cortisol levels.
Remember, managing stress is a gradual process. Taking one step at a time and making small progress is real achievement. Let this guide serve as a foundation, and embrace stress management as a lifelong practice for enhancing both mental and physical health.
References
CMHA British Columbia. (2016, July 22). Stress - CMHA British Columbia. https://bc.cmha.ca/documents/stress/.
Stress. (2022, June 17). https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress.
Stress and your health: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (n.d.). https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003211.htm.
Harvard Health. (2024, April 3). Understanding the stress response. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response.
Knezevic E, Nenic K, Milanovic V, Knezevic NN. The Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Psychological Disorders. Cells. 2023; 12(23):2726. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12232726.
Palamarchuk, I.S., Slavich, G.M., Vaillancourt, T. et al. Stress-related cellular pathophysiology as a crosstalk risk factor for neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders.BMC Neurosci 24, 65 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-023-00831-2.
Mbiydzenyuy, N.E., Qulu, LA. Stress, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, and aggression. Metab Brain Dis 39, 1613–1636 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-024-01393-w.
Woo, H., Hong, C.J., Jung, S. et al. Chronic restraint stress induces hippocampal memory deficits by impairing insulin signaling. Mol Brain 11, 37 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13041-018-0381-8.
American Psychological Association. (2023, March 8). Stress effects on the body.https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body.
American Psychological Association. (2022, October 31). How stress affects your health.https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/health.
Harvard Health. (2019, July 1). A 20-minute nature break relieves stress. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/a-20-minute-nature-break-relieves-stress.
Da Silva Gherardi-Donato, E. C., Gimenez, L. B. H., De Fátima Fernandes, M. N., Lacchini, R., Júnior, E. B. C., Díaz-Serrano, K. V., Melchior, M., Pérez, R. G., Riquelme-Galindo, J., & Reisdorfer, E. (2023). Mindfulness Practice Reduces Hair Cortisol, Anxiety and Perceived Stress in University Workers: Randomized Clinical Trial. Healthcare, 11(21), 2875. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11212875.
Urizar, G.G., Miller, K., Saldaña, K.S. et al. Effects of Health Behavior Interventions on Psychosocial Outcomes and Cortisol Regulation Among Chronically Stressed Midlife and Older Adults. Int.J. Behav. Med. 28, 627–640 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-021-09957-1.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Mind and Body Approaches for Stress: What the Science Says.” NCCIH Clinical Digest, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/providers/digest/mind-and-body-approaches-for-stress-science.
Clinic, C. (2024, July 1). Do Weighted Blankets Work? Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-weighted-blankets-banish-nighttime-anxiety.