Stress Hormones - By Intern Sam

We all experience stress. According to the global organization for stress, almost 75 percent of Americans experience moderate to high levels of stress. However, just because we will feel stressed, doesn’t mean we can’t prepare ourselves for it. Stress is all around us and comes from different places; our job, our family, even our friends can cause us stress. Many people believe stress to be a negative thing, but what many people don’t realize is that our bodies can produce a stress response for our own safety and health. I want to take this time to discuss what causes stress, how to cope with it, and using it to your advantagea.

Stress and Hormones

When we experience something that causes us stress, that person, event, or thing is called a “stressor”. When we come into contact with a stressor our bodies sympathetic nervous system kicks in and can send us into a state of “fight or flight”. This is a common physiological phenomenon that we experience, and it may not always be in an intense situation. This is where our endocrine system comes in. In response to stress, our body releases hormones that take charge of our mental and physical reaction to stress. These hormones are known as adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine. 

Adrenaline: Also known as the fight or flight hormone, is produced by your adrenal glands after receiving information from your brain about a stressful situation. It is responsible for immediate reactions. It gives us surges of energy and causes our heart rate to increase. A good example of this is changing lanes on the highway and a car in front of you almost hits you causing you to slam on your brakes. 

Norepinephrine: Similar to adrenaline this is released from the adrenal glands. Even though it’s similar to adrenaline, norepinephrine is more of a backup system. If your adrenal glands are not working, norepinephrine will kick in.

Cortisol: A steroid hormone known as the stress hormone. Because releasing hormones is a process, it can take a few minutes to feel the effects of cortisol. When you are in a survival mode situation, the perfect amount of cortisol can save your life. It maintains blood pressure while regulating bodily functions that aren’t crucial in that moment like immunity and digestion. Too much cortisol can lead to a suppressed immune system, acne, and obesity. This is where some of the physiological symptoms of stress come from. It’s our bodies own hormones working overtime that can cause negative symptoms of stress. Some symptoms of chronic stress are fatigue, headaches, anxiety or depression, weight gain, and poor sleep.