By NAUMAN HUSAIN
August 19, 2017
“With summer right around the corner and with work and/or study stress starting to rise as the semester starts, your cortisol levels may be going off the roof, setting you back and prolonging your dream body.”
Many people struggle for months if not years to achieve their dream body. Whether you’re a student or a working professional, you may be the only thing standing between your fitness goals.
With summer right around the corner and with work and/or study stress starting to rise as the semester comes to an end, your cortisol levels may be going off the roof, setting you back and prolonging your dream body.
Go out and get active, provided that the sessions are not too long and nutritional needs are met, a relaxed state of mind will ultimately be achieved and your cortisol will be controlled for the most part throughout the day.
But let’s take a step back: what is cortisol?
Cortisol belongs to a group of hormones called glucocorticoids, which are hormones involved in the regulation of metabolism in the cells. They also help us regulate various stressors on the body. Cortisol itself is a steroid-based hormone and is synthesized from cholesterol, and made in the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland in your kidneys.
Cortisol increases your blood pressure and helps the body resist stress and reduces the overall immune response in the body.
Cortisol belongs to a group of hormones called glucocorticoids, which are hormones involved in the regulation of metabolism in the cells.
So what exactly happens when you take excessive stress?
Your cortisol goes up.
High levels of cortisol in your body can lead up to water and salt retention (making you store excess water in your body, making you look puffy and bloated), high blood pressure, swelling, muscle tissue loss, and deposits of excess fat in the abdomen and the back of the neck. And let’s not forget, it’s effect on your body’s wound healing process as well.
Moreover, cortisol has been determined to be catabolic, putting you in a catabolic state. Catabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units that are either oxidized to release energy, or used in other anabolic reactions.
How do you combat this?
Exercise.
Now that you know the problem, you tackle it head-on. Go out and get active, provided that the sessions are not too long and nutritional needs are met, a relaxed state of mind will ultimately be achieved and your cortisol will be controlled for the most part throughout the day.
Normally, cortisol is highest in the morning and goes to decrease as the day goes on. Weight training also increases growth hormone, which sets off the cortisol release.
Far too often, we pay attention to the food we eat and the exercise we are doing but forget to focus on our mental state. Hopefully, now you’ve realized exactly how important it is to maintain all three at the same time–more specifically your stress and the cortisol that comes with it.
