Stress isn’t just in your brainit’s in your body, too.
The word “stress” just brings up bad vibes, right?
So, it makes sense that cortisolaka the “stress hormone” would have a bad reputation.
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“But the dosage and amounts of cortisol in the body need to be right.”
You may be wondering if your favorite workout, like running, increases cortisol.
But that doesn’t mean you should swear off sweating in the name of being stressed.
What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol may be nicknamed the “stress hormone,” but this steroid hormone does way more than that.
Your cortisol levels are controlled by your pituitary glands, which are located in your brain.
They use their spidey senses to tell if your blood has the “right” amount of cortisol.
Too much or too little cortisol in the body?
The pituitary glands tell the adrenal glands to adjust.
Of course, they can also fluctuate based on what you’re ~experiencing~.
that also cause a cortisol response in the body.
For example, you might have a natural cortisol increase before a CrossFit competition or work presentation.
And that’s when cortisol can become a problem.
But these aren’t the cortisol issues most people are facing.
Typically, the issue is excess stress.
But do you know what counts physical stress?
Yep, exercise causes physical stress.
Don’t read it wrong: Exercise isn’t bad!
Whatisbad is the high-stress culture.
What comes up, must come down, right?
Well, it doesn’t always work like that.
Sometimes, exerciseexacerbatespre-existing cortisol imbalances, she says.
(See:Is Your Really Intense Workout Making You Sick?)
Usually, it’s a short-term deviation and your cortisol levels return to normal.
But exercising at night can exacerbate preexisting cortisol issues, he explains.
The populationmostat risk for cortisol imbalances are endurance exercisers, according to Dr. Christofides.
So for people who already (‘already’ being the key word here!)
That’s because, during these high-stress periods, your cortisol levels are already way up.
So if a workout is leaving you flat, it probably spiked your cortisol levelseven higher.
There are other non-exercise related symptoms, toomost of which are similar to the symptoms of overtraining syndrome.
For example, “your body needs progesterone to make cortisol.
It’s also worth mentioning that mental health issues like anxiety and depression have a direct relationship with cortisol.
Instead, you may have to make some adjustments to both to your gym and out-of-the-gym routines.
For starters, try going to the gym in the morning.
This will align your exercise-induced cortisol surge with the surge that happens naturally, explains Dr. Christofides.
“Just don’t go to the gym in the morningin place ofsleeping a full seven to eight hours.
That’s the number one way to make this worse,” she says.
Or, you may simply need to incorporate more low-intensity weight training or yoga into your routine.
What if high-intensity exercise is your jam?
This kind of exercise is tremendously beneficial, he adds.
(FYI: Check out more onthe health benefits of CrossFitandthe health benefits of high-intensity interval training.)
What’s important, he says, is to tune into (and then listen to) your body.
How Long Until Your Cortisol Levels Return to Normal?
“you might see some real differences within one or two weeks,” says Molloy.
