How many calories in cortisol?

That may seem like a ridiculous question since cortisol is a hormone and not a food.  However, constant stress can cause our bodies to overproduce the hormone which can cause sleep problems, induce blood sugar abnormalities, and lead to abdominal weight gain.  We need cortisol as it plays an important role in regulating blood pressure and the immune system when our body is experiencing physical or emotional stress.  But when we are under constant stress and cortisol levels do not return to normal, we can experience some or all of the above problems.

Of course the desirable solution is to reduce the amount of stress in our lives, but we all know that there is a certain amount of stress that is uncontrollable.  However, there are steps that we can take to manage cortisol.

Sleep!  Or take a nap.  We have emphasized the importance of sleep so many times that some of our participants have asked if we live in the real world.  We do, and our lives are busy and we don't always get as much sleep as we know we should.  But we know that it is so important that at times we just decide that sleep is more important and many things truly can just wait until tomorrow. 

According to Shawn Talbott, author of The Cortisol Connection, the difference between getting six hours and eight hours of sleep is 50 percent more cortisol in the bloodstream.  A study at Germany's Institute for Aerospace Medicine found when a group of pilots slept six hours or less for seven nights while on duty, their cortisol levels increased significantly and stayed elevated for two days.  The recommended 8 hours of nightly shut-eye allows your body enough time to recover from the day's stresses, Talbott says.

Another great way to lower cortisol levels is to tune into your favorite music.  When doctors at Japan's Osaka Medical Center played tunes for a group of patients undergoing colonoscopies, the patients' cortisol levels rose less than those of others who underwent the same procedure in a quiet room.  So even if you don't have a colonoscopy on your schedule, music has a calming effect on the brain and has been shown to reduce cortisol levels by as much as 66%. 

Are you a tea drinker?  When volunteers at University College London were given a stressful task, the cortisol levels of those who were regular black-tea drinkers fell by 47% within an hour of completing the assignment, while others who drank fake tea experienced only a 27% drop. The author of the study, Andrew Steptoe, PhD, believes that naturally occurring chemicals such as polyphenols and flavonoids could be responsible for tea's calming effects.

How many times have we heard that laughter is the best medicine?  Researchers at Loma Linda University found that simply anticipating laughter is enough to reduce cortisol levels by nearly half.  And if your best friend isn't available to make you laugh, studies have shown that massage sessions reduce stress by promoting production of dopamine and serotonin, the same "feel good" hormones released when we socialize with pals or do something fun.

We all live busy lives and are subject to stress that we have no control over, but we can take steps to reduce some of that stress and to minimize the impact that it has on our health.