Cortisol Part III: More than a "Stress Hormone"
Cortisol Part III: More than a "Stress Hormone"
Trusting cortisol by understanding its broad functions across body and mind.
Welcome to the third part of my new series on cortisol. The study of hormones is endocrinology. While the workings are dense, they also explain a lot about our experiences as humans. Today, we're going to look into what cortisol does, and why we need it. This is part of my mission to stop the anti-cortisol rhetoric. We need to love, understand, and most of all, trust cortisol, if we are going to adopt a more circadian lifestyle.
Cortisol is more than a "stress hormone."
Cortisol rises with stress, but cortisol doesn't cause stress. Remember, to think of cortisol as a bad thing is like thinking of EMTs as bad because EMTs show up at accidents!
We need to love, understand, and most of all, trust cortisol, if we are going to adopt a more circadian lifestyle.
Cortisol shows up during stress because it helps the body respond the right way. It is a powerful ally and crucial part of our biology. Cortisol is able to help us deal with stress because it has a lot of other important jobs.
Our bodies and minds depend on cortisol to regulate our:
cardiovascular function
cognition
development
emotion & mood
immune and inflammatory function
metabolism
peripheral circadian systems
reproduction
wakefulness
and so much more.
In fact, almost every cell in the body is a potential target for cortisol! Without any "stress" at all, cortisol would still have a full-time job in the body. That's why it is so important that we put a stop to all this anti-cortisol rhetoric.
Cortisol is to day as melatonin is to night
A couple weeks ago,
did an in-depth post about everything wellness lifestyle. I appreciate their publication, and was glad to see them include circadian rhythms as #2 in their recommendations! This information is becoming more mainstream every day, and health can only get better for all as it does. Here's their post, and I hope it also contributes to putting cortisol back in it's rightful place:
Today's post lays the foundation for the next and last post in this cortisol series. In the final installment, we will look at how cortisol can go astray, and how to keep it on track. This is within our power! So, stay tuned, because this last piece is going to be an interesting one, and wrap everything around to... you guessed it... body clock timing!