Stress and Cortisol

Cortisol is the hormone that is released when you are under stress. Alot of people think stress means physical reactions to situations i.e. heart palpatations, anxiety, sweating etc. But in reality, most of us who live in a fast paced environment, are under stress all the time. We have just adapted to it – or so we think we have.

So what about motherhood? Well I don’t know about you, but since I gave birth to my oldest 8 years ago, my body and emotions have been on a roller coaster ride. Motherhood for me, especially the second time around, has been a wonderfully fullfilling but also almost debilitating (or so it seemed at the time) experience. Ever heard of the saying “One is none; two is ten”? That couldn’t be more bang on! Although some people have even gone so far as to say stress can kill you, stress is something that can’t be ignored. After having my own challenges with stress in the past, I have seen too many women over the years suffer while filling perscriptions to keep them going.

This is where exercise should come in instead. However, I realize this is easier said than done for alot of women. But what if I said that high amounts of stress can actually make you gain weight? Or for those of you who do exercise but don’t make other lifestyle changes, stress can actually inhibit you from losing weight. I know, it doesn’t sound fair but really, if life was fair we would all be assigned a full time cook and cleaning lady when we came home from the hospital.

Cortisol is released during stressful situations whether it’s good or bad, but this is not the concern. First of all, Cortisol is needed to decrease muscle inflammation and break down amino acids for protein synthesis after exercise. But it’s the excessive amounts of cortisol that are of concern. Too much cortisol not only can shut down your body’s performance, but it can also cause other health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and ulcers. Exercise decreases this hormone and increases the happy hormone – seratonin. But you are not going to exercise every day either, are you? Well just know that lack of sleep and poor nutrition has also shown to increase cortisol levels.

So if you are a new mom or an adequately experienced one like myself, let this be a little push in the right direction. Find whatever it is you need to de-stress. You don’t need me to tell you to take time out for yourself because you know it’s true. I just don’t want you to find yourself at the doctor’s before you start making it happen.