We’ve all felt it before at one point in our lives. Racing heart, heavy breathing, tense muscles, flared nostrils, sweaty palms, flushed skin- these are signs of adrenaline pumping through our blood. Adrenaline, one of the fight or flight (or freeze) hormones produced by our body in stressful situations. You can feel it come and, once the stimulant is gone, you can feel it go.

Cortisol, however, isn’t as easy to notice. It’s the silent hormone that works on getting our bodies ready to react to either fight, take off in flight or freeze in place. Cortisol is the regulator that suppress biological functions that are detrimental or deadweight to the successfully accomplish the mission. While we need these things like immunity, digestion, reproduction and growth to thrive on a daily basis, they are irrelevant when it’s go time.

This alarm system is only supposed to be activated under stressful conditions. Once the stress stimulus is gone or rectified then the hormone levels back to to normal. That’s in a ideal world. In our world, we live in a state of chronic stress so the hormone levels, cortisol in particular, are always elevated which means our bodies are not functioning as they should which leads to physical and mental health issues. Of course, it doesn’t affect all of us the same way. If you have trouble sleeping peacefully,  get sick often, constant headaches, breakouts, thinning hair, weight gain/loss, body pains, mood swings/irritable, brain fog... it could be higher cortisol levels behind it.

The good news here is that by adding just a few proven tips and tools to your daily routine consistently, and that’s key, then the level can work its way back down to normal. Bringing you these solutions is what Love YU Collective is all about.

Incorporate one of a few of these into your weekly routines!

• Yoga

• Guided Breathing

• Meditation

• Sleep Rituals

• Supplements (Sleep, Relaxing)

• Ayurvedic and Herbal Teas

• Fitness

• Therapy

https://www.hormone.org/your-health-and-hormones/glands-and-hormones-a-to-z/hormones/adrenaline

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037