What are the Health Impacts of Chronic Stress & High Cortisol Levels?

Living with high levels of stress can wreak havoc on your health, mind & body

Stress & Excess Cortisol: the Impact on health

Are you living with stress on a regular basis?

While we can eliminate some stress from our lives, we can also take steps to minimise its impact on our health and build resilience to it.

Read on to find out about the surprising and numerous impacts stress and high cortisol levels can have on our physical and mental health, as well as how to protect and shield yourself from these potential adverse health outcomes.

Are you aware of how excess cortisol and adrenal exhaustion can be affecting your health?

The consequences of enduring chronic stress, go deeper than just feeling under pressure. It’s vitally important to strengthen your body so it can respond in a healthy way.

76% of those working feel moderate to high levels of stress regularly.

74% of the general public say that stress often overwhelms them.

There will always be unavoidable stress triggers, which are part of life. However, the good news is that with natural medicine and lifestyle there are methods to help neutralise these ill-effects.

Cortisol is also an essential hormone that affects almost every organ in the body. This includes things like energy production, suppressing inflammation, activating the immune system and regulating our circadian rhythm or internal clock.

Cortisol peaks in the morning, giving us an energy boost first thing, and gradually dwindles as the day passes, reaches its lowest level around midnight – allowing for sleep.

Cortisol is produced in the adrenal gland. It is triggered and released with DHEA and adrenaline in the face of stress.

Stress is both a physiological and psychological reaction. When under stress our alertness and focus is sharpened, blood pressure and heart rate raised, and we can move into a fight flight state very quickly. Bodily functions are heightened for a short period of time, and should then taper back to normal.

When we are under chronic, or repeated stress, our fight flight response can progress to a deeper level.

The emergency reaction of the body slows bodily functions that are non-essential in the face of fight-flight, such as digestion and body repair.

In place of those usual functions, the body releases more cortisol and glucose into the bloodstream, and an array of metabolic, immune and psychiatric dysfunction can be experienced.

When cortisol is constantly being drawn upon, the delicate balance within the body is disrupted. As a result, it becomes less sensitive to the effects of cortisol, known as cortisol resistance. This can wreak havoc with your health, opening the door to physical and psychological symptoms, such as:

The impact of chronically high cortisol on health and disease

It’s well documented that prolonged stress and high cortisol levels are linked with health problems. I’ve listed below some examples.

Cortisol usually works in harmony with insulin to keep blood sugar levels stable, helping to promote glucose uptake into the cells.

Prolonged fight or flight states disrupt this intricate balance, inhibiting insulin secretion and in turn rendering the glucose less able to enter the cells. What’s more, the glucose can end up staying in the blood stream, elevating blood sugar levels, promoting insulin resistance and the risk of type two diabetes.

Many interlinking factors can be associated with weight gain.

In my practice, over many years, I’ve seen that those who struggle to lose weight often are under prolonged stress. Cortisol is a fat making hormone, as is insulin, and in particular for women estrogen. These three can interact with each other to make weight loss difficult.

Excess cortisol can disrupt, block or reduce thyroid function.

It will also affect liver function and 70% of thyroid function comes through the liver.

It is particularly a problem during prolonged stress. Thyroid hormone production is negatively affected by reducing TSH and impacting T3 and T4 levels.

So many thyroid conditions are in fact not due to problem with the thyroid itself, but rather dysfunction in other areas of the body impacting thyroid function.

In the short term, cortisol reduces inflammation in the body. furthermore, it is used in medications for autoimmune and inflammatory disease because of this attribute.

However, there’s a big change, when there is continually high levels of cortisol in the body. This in turn can actually increase inflammation in the body and drive immune dysfunction. This can result in neuroinflammation and central nervous system problems for example.

Arguably inflammation is at the root of all disease, so this is a very big issue.

Stress and resulting excess cortisol can suppress the immune system. Often when we are under stress, we can fall sick more easily. What’s more, when under stress the risk of autoimmune disease has been found to be higher.

The link between cardiovascular health and stress is well documented. It can alter heart rate, strength of contraction, blood pressure and induces the narrowing of veins. Furthermore, high cortisol can signal to the autonomic nervous system to increase vasoconstriction, increase blood lipids and blood pressure, inducing vascular changes and atherogenesis which can cause cardiac arrythmias and myocardial infraction.

Targeting and managing stress reduction, among other factors, is a key strategy in reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Stress can deplete the body of crucial B vitamins such as B12 and folate. B vitamins are vital for healthy detoxification of the body, energy production, nerve and brain function, as well as much more.

Long term exposure to stress can alter DNA methylation, and therefore gene expression, contributing to poor health and disease.

Care should be taken when supplementing with B vitamins, to ensure the correct form is taken.

When we are under stress, we will often make poor food choices. In addition, our body digests and absorbs nutrients in a different way when there is excess cortisol. Bowel motility, mucus secretion, stomach acid levels, microbial balance, pathogenic bacteria, inflammation and intestinal permeability are all impacted.

The circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that is part of the body’s internal clock, is very sensitive to stress and excess cortisol. Disrupted sleep has been found to be detrimental to mental and physical health, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, mood disorders, obesity, pain conditions and blood sugar imbalances

High stress levels are a risk factor for many health problems, including neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, as well as anxiety and depression.

Other research has found that chronic stress can actually cause structural changes in different parts of the brain, including atrophy of the brain mass and reduction in overall brain weight, which can then alter cognition, memory and have long lasting effects on the nervous system.

Women can be particularly affected by high cortisol levels.

Stress and excess cortisol is associated with:

  • Menstrual cycle disruption, such as irregular periods or even amenorrhea.
  • Ovulation can be impacted by stress by suppressing the surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) necessary for ovulation, leading to anovulatory cycles.
  • Progesterone levels can be reduced when we are under stress. This is because the body may divert the precursors for progesterone to produce more cortisol. Since progesterone is key for the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, this can further disrupt menstrual regularity and affect overall reproductive health.
  • Fertility issues are commonly associated with chronic stress. This is due to its impact on ovulation and hormonal balance. As a result, women under consistent stress may experience more difficulty conceiving.
  • Hormonal fluctuations influenced by excess cortisol can worsen PMS or lead to mood swings, anxiety, and depression.

How to reduce cortisol levels naturally

Lowering stress and excess cortisol has a far reaching and rippling effect across a person’s health and wellbeing. If someone comes to see me with health problems and they are under a lot of stress and have high cortisol levels, addressing the stress and high cortisol is an important part of the program.

Removing oneself from stress is not always easy. It’s usually impossible to eliminate all stress from our modern day lives. But what we can do really well is rebalance the body and give it the nutritional tools it needs to minimize the impact of any stress we encounter.

I recommend an anti-inflammatory diet.

It’s best to focus on unprocessed, nutrient dense wholefoods, with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, good quality protein and healthy fats.

Pro and prebiotics, including fermented foods can support stress reduction due to the intrinsic link between the gut and the brain.

Avoid things that are known to impact cortisol levels, such as caffeine and sugar.

Exercise, ideally outdoors, is a wonderful way to help reduce stress. Light to moderate exercise has been shown to decrease cortisol levels and improve sleep. Regular exercise can have numerous beneficial effects on quality of life both physically and mentally, from better overall mood, self-esteem and feelings of well-being.

Sleep in another important lifestyle area that can be looked at. Prioritising sleep is vital to support the immune system, cognition, blood sugar balance and mood and for the glycogenotic process of replenishing glucose storage in the neurons. Deep sleep gives the body a chance to rest and repair. To support good sleep, aim to improve your sleep hygiene by avoiding screens before bed and aiming for 7-9 hours a night.

There are several general supplements that I often recommend to help reduce cortisol and stress. These include Magnesium, certain types of B vitamins, Vitamin C. Herbs such as Ashwagandha, Rhodiola, Ginsengs and Liquorice are well known for assisting adrenal function.

However, digging deeper, and pinpointing why the body is reacting to stress in the way that it is is really key to turning off the impacts of stress.

Hear from my clients

““My neighbors will back up the success of this treatment. From someone who never stayed out after 8.30-9.00pm, I have broken all records – partying until 4am. And of more importance is spending more time at night with my son.”
– Janine

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