There are two main stress hormones created in the body: cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline is set off when the body believes it is in danger. Throughout humans 150,000 years on this planet, this chemical response was triggered to literally save your life, whether a lion was jumping out at you or you were being chased by someone from another tribe with a spear. Adrenaline leads to a cascade of biochemical reactions in the body, such as sending glucose to your blood to power you to run away or react quickly. When the threat is physical you utilize all of those chemical changes.
In today’s modern time however, the perceived threats are psychological rather than physical. We’ve made emails stressful. As the day goes on, and more “threats” come in - more emails, more deadlines and appointments - the level of adrenaline continues to rise, communicating to every cell in your body that your life is in danger. But of course it’s not, and our bodies don’t get to use those biochemical changes needed to flee or to fight.
So what happens? Well, firstly it sends unnecessary glucose to your blood, leading to fat storage. At any given time, your body can choose to burn either glucose or fat for energy. When we’re in a stress state, our body wants to use the faster, more readily available fuel to power us away from the perceived danger, which is glucose. If the body is always in this state of red alert, it never gets to burn fat as fuel.
Another implication is on our ability to make good food choices because of sugar cravings that get triggered. Our body wants to keep glucose stores high in case we need that energy at a moment's notice to get ourselves out of danger. As soon as our glucose stores in the body get below half full, our desire for sweet food has to be switched on to restock that cupboard. The body’s belief is that if the fuel gets too low, and there really was a threat to your life, you wouldn’t be able to save your own life. This is why we get that daily 3pm sweet tooth. We have these ancient mechanisms truly with our best interest at heart, governing so much of our choices and preferences.
The other way that stress impacts on a system that is so critical to our health, our longevity, our ability to burn fat, and our capacity for kindness even, is obviously sleep. When we have high circulating levels of adrenaline, the body doesn’t want you to sleep restoratively. Its concern is that if something really did jump out of the jungle and threaten your life, you wouldn’t wake up in time to save yourself. Adrenaline is designed to keep you ever so slightly awake.
Stress also impacts significantly on our nonessential processes, i.e. processes in the body that are considered non essential to survival. These are things like skin, hair, and nails. Because these systems aren’t required to save your life, when your body’s perception via adrenaline is that your life is in danger, all the blood supply as well as oxygen, energy, and nutrients distribution is diverted into saving your life. In order to supply those nonessential processes with the oxygen they require, it is essential to reduce the prevalence of adrenaline reactions from kicking in so often.
The final strand to this concept is the way stress impacts on our digestive system. Stress hormones divert what is usually a wonderful supply of blood flow to our digestion, away from there to our periphery - our arms and legs - because that’s what’s going to power us to be able to get away from the danger that we think that we’re in. And with that, digestion can be enormously compromised, making digesting our food effectively in the way that it was intended, very difficult. In the US, up to 24% of women have IBS alone. There are certainly many factors at play here, and compromised digestive systems from chronic stress certainly plays a key role. You can think of it this way: you can either stress or digest, but you can’t do both.
How do we reduce stress in our daily lives and begin to support our health in this way?
Diaphragmatic breathing: long slow deep breaths. Notice a room full of adults, they’re all breathing short shallow breaths from their chest. Adrenaline is provoking that type of breathing, signally to the body that it is in danger. Now think of how a baby breathes while they’re sleeping - long breaths deep into their belly. When you breathe diaphragmatically, you signal to your body that you’re safe. You wouldn’t think something so simple can make a difference but it does! Nothing lowers stress hormones faster than diaphragmatic breathing. Start your day with 20 long slow deep breaths, or set an alert on your phone everyday at 3pm to remind you to breathe deeply.
Cut back on caffeine. I know you don’t want to hear this! But caffeine is one of the two main influences that leads the body to produce adrenaline. It primes you to react with panic at the sight of your to-do list. Without an over-caffeinated morning, and this adrenaline being present in the first place, we have a better opportunity to bring spaciousness into decisions and see things more logically. If your to-do list is too long or overwhelming, can you delegate, defer, or say no to certain tasks? Consider swapping coffee for green tea in the morning to give your nervous system a break, which can have a huge influence on your reaction to certain pressures throughout the day.
Explore your perception of pressure. Our perception of pressure is the other main influencer that sets off adrenaline in the body. If we can shift our perception to save pressure for when there really is pressure, and see a day filled with emails, meetings, and appointments with other people, as rich, meaningful opportunities for fulfillment and connection it will be game-changing for our nervous system. Always take time to slow down, breathe, and be grateful for all that you have.
Comments