Simple Ways to Support your Body during Times of Stress
Adrenal fatigue.
You’ve probably heard this popular term before, and you may have even wondered if it’s the cause of your feeling tired all the time.
But despite getting thrown around pretty loosely, it’s not actually a thing.
The exhaustion part anyway.
Except for in rare cases, such as Addison’s disease, your adrenals don’t just stop working. What actually happens is called HPA axis dysfunction, where your adrenals become desensitized and stop properly responding as a result of chronic stress.
And who isn’t under some kind of stress these days?!
But when all that stress starts to outweigh your body’s ability to cope, you may start experiencing symptoms.
Here are some common ones:
Feeling tired all the time!
Feeling “Tired but wired” at night
Major cravings for salty snacks, carbs and sugar
Feeling depleted
Blood sugar imbalances
Low libido
Brain fog
Increase in belly fat
Difficulty losing weight
WHAT EXACTLY ARE YOUR ADRENALS?
Your adrenal glands are two tiny walnut sized glands that sit on top of your kidneys. Under stressful circumstances, they release adrenaline and cortisol, often referred to as the “fight or flight” hormones.
Together these hormones are designed to protect your body from “threats.” Super helpful when you needed to run away from bears, but much less helpful for juggling work, kids, and battling traffic.
These “stress hormones” get a bad rap but they’re not all bad!
They also help regulate your immune response, stimulate the production of glucose, aid short-term memory, and help your body adapt to stressors.
Prolonged, elevated cortisol levels are where you get into trouble!
It shifts your body into fight-or-flight mode by activating your sympathetic nervous system causing all sorts of trouble including menstrual irregularities, weight gain and fatigue.
But in our modern world, everything can feel like a threat!
So this system can get stuck in overdrive. And when it stays that way for too long, it causes all sorts of trouble including brain fog, digestive issues, weight gain, changes to your periods and major fatigue!
It’s really easy to underestimate the impact that chronic stress can have on your body because a high stress lifestyle is kinda the norm these days. But just because something is common doesn't mean it’s normal! And some of the things you don’t immediately perceive as stressful are still perceived as stressful by your body.
Stress can look like:
trying to balance working from home
changes to finances
starting a new job
relationship issues
moving across the country
BUT, it can also look like:
out of whack blood sugar
undereating
over exercising
exposure to toxins in your environment
poor quality sleep
So what can you do? Let’s explore.
HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR ADRENALS
It’s not exactly realistic to expect stress to disappear completely from your life, but that's why it’s so important to build rest and restorative activities into your everyday routine.
Here are 8 simple ways you can support your body during times of stress:
Eat a nourishing breakfast!
Opt for lower impact exercise
Prioritize quality sleep (and try to get to bed before 10 pm)
Stay hydrated! It sounds simple but it matters.
Balance your blood sugar by including a good mix of protein, fat and fiber at each meal and snack
Get outside! (a little sunshine and fresh air truly are magic)
Cultivate more simple moments of mindfulness (breath work, writing, meditation)
Try an adrenal cocktail to replenish vitamins and minerals (vitamin C, magnesium, sodium, potassium)
If the season you’re in is a busy one I hope you remember to slow down once in a while and dwell deeply in the present moment and feel truly alive. The highs and the lows. . . none of it lasts forever.
Give yourself permission to take care of you...schedule a massage, go for a walk with a friend, have your partner put the kids to bed so you can curl up with a good book. You more than anyone deserve your own love and attention.