Hormone Replacement Therapy
What Does Stress Do to Hormones
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In the Western world, stress has become the new ‘norm,’ to the point we barely realize the negative effect chronic stress has on our bodies. Being stressed out and living on the edge of burn out due to hectic lives and overworking is nearly glorified. Most of us aren’t taking action to minimize the adverse effects of the stress we encounter daily.
While your body handles short periods of stress without a problem, chronic stress eventually takes a toll on your health.
Too much stress may result in hormonal imbalances that lead to various symptoms like mood swings, irregular menstrual cycles, low libido, infertility, and more.1
How Can Stress Affect Hormones?
How does stress affect your hormone levels? You first have to understand what happens during the body’s stress response.
Your hypothalamus releases a Corticortopin Releases Hormone (CRH) hormone if you deal with a stressful situation or event. Which signals the release of another hormone from your pituitary gland, which goes into the bloodstream to the adrenal glands, and triggers the release of the stress hormone called Cortisol. This hormone prepares your body for either fight or flight and creates physiological changes in your body. Your breathing and heart rates increase, energy diverts from other areas of the body, so you have extra fuel, and your thinking capability sharpens.2
After stress passes, cortisol levels decrease, and your hypothalamus signals your adrenal and pituitary glands to stop producing hormones.
However, if you deal with chronic stress, your body continues to release all of these hormones, resulting in dysfunction across your adrenal glands, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland.3
Elevated levels of stress hormones affect all body systems and can lead to other hormonal imbalances, too.
Symptoms Stress Can Be Affecting Your Hormones
How do you know if stress is affecting your hormones? Some of the most common symptoms that stress is resulting in hormonal imbalances include:4
- Loss of libido or fertility – Stress results in elevated cortisol levels, which means other body systems may function minimally and suppress reproductive hormone production, which may cause low libido and loss of reproductive function.
- Mood disorders, anxiety, and depression – Chronic elevation of Cortisol also reduces the levels of important brain neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, resulting in irritability, mood disorders, anxiety, or even depression.
- Memory problems – Memory problems and brain fog often occur when stress starts affecting hormone levels. Cortisol can damage parts of the brain, and hormone dysfunction interferes with new brain cells’ production.
- Weight gain – Hormonal imbalances caused by stress often result in weight gain. Cortisol makes the body think it needs more fatty foods and carbs for energy.
- Digestive issues – Digestion slows with the release of Cortisol because this hormone diverts energy to other parts of the body in preparation for fight or flight.
- High blood pressure – Constant stress results in increased heart rate and constriction of the blood vessels, which results in higher blood pressure, and as stress becomes chronic and hormones stay imbalanced, chronic high blood pressure may occur.
Additional symptoms may include:
- High blood sugar
- Hot flashes
- Loss of strength
- Night sweats
- Leg cramps
- Joint pain
- Loss of motivation
- Lowered immune system
- Low energy levels
Preventing Stress from Affecting Hormones
How can you keep stress from affecting your hormone levels? Becoming aware of when and why you feel stressed is essential. Learning to manage stress better can help, too. Some helpful tips for reducing stress to prevent hormonal imbalances include:5
- Improving sleep hygiene to ensure you’re getting plenty of quality sleep
- Exercise regularly (but avoid over-exercising, which can create more stress)
- Evaluate your work-life balance and adjust as needed
- Practice deep breathing, mindfulness, or meditation daily
- Ensure you have emotional support from friends and family
- Reduce the consumption of alcohol and caffeine
- Eat a healthy diet
- Take time for hobbies and activities you enjoy
How BHRT Helps
Besides taking measures to reduce stress, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can also help correct hormone imbalances.
While dietary and lifestyle changes may help balance hormones naturally, some individuals may need hormone support.
BHRT offers a more natural, safe way to balance hormones instead of other forms of hormone therapy. Different types of bioidentical hormones could be used depending on individual hormonal imbalance: progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and desiccated thyroid pills.
Restoring hormone balances with BHRT often alleviates symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, low energy, low libido, and more.
References
https://www.winniepalmerhospital.com/content-hub/can-stress-upset-my-hormones
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress/effects-endocrine
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/hormone-imbalances-and-how-to-treat-them
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324031#for-females
In the Western world, stress has become the new ‘norm,’ to the point we barely realize the negative effect chronic stress has on our bodies. Being stressed out and living on the edge of burn out due to hectic lives and overworking is nearly glorified. Most of us aren’t taking action to minimize the adverse effects of the stress we encounter daily.
While your body handles short periods of stress without a problem, chronic stress eventually takes a toll on your health.
Too much stress may result in hormonal imbalances that lead to various symptoms like mood swings, irregular menstrual cycles, low libido, infertility, and more.1
How Can Stress Affect Hormones?
How does stress affect your hormone levels? You first have to understand what happens during the body’s stress response.
Your hypothalamus releases a Corticortopin Releases Hormone (CRH) hormone if you deal with a stressful situation or event. Which signals the release of another hormone from your pituitary gland, which goes into the bloodstream to the adrenal glands, and triggers the release of the stress hormone called Cortisol. This hormone prepares your body for either fight or flight and creates physiological changes in your body. Your breathing and heart rates increase, energy diverts from other areas of the body, so you have extra fuel, and your thinking capability sharpens.2
After stress passes, cortisol levels decrease, and your hypothalamus signals your adrenal and pituitary glands to stop producing hormones.
However, if you deal with chronic stress, your body continues to release all of these hormones, resulting in dysfunction across your adrenal glands, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland.3
Elevated levels of stress hormones affect all body systems and can lead to other hormonal imbalances, too.
Symptoms Stress Can Be Affecting Your Hormones
How do you know if stress is affecting your hormones? Some of the most common symptoms that stress is resulting in hormonal imbalances include:4
- Loss of libido or fertility – Stress results in elevated cortisol levels, which means other body systems may function minimally and suppress reproductive hormone production, which may cause low libido and loss of reproductive function.
- Mood disorders, anxiety, and depression – Chronic elevation of Cortisol also reduces the levels of important brain neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, resulting in irritability, mood disorders, anxiety, or even depression.
- Memory problems – Memory problems and brain fog often occur when stress starts affecting hormone levels. Cortisol can damage parts of the brain, and hormone dysfunction interferes with new brain cells’ production.
- Weight gain – Hormonal imbalances caused by stress often result in weight gain. Cortisol makes the body think it needs more fatty foods and carbs for energy.
- Digestive issues – Digestion slows with the release of Cortisol because this hormone diverts energy to other parts of the body in preparation for fight or flight.
- High blood pressure – Constant stress results in increased heart rate and constriction of the blood vessels, which results in higher blood pressure, and as stress becomes chronic and hormones stay imbalanced, chronic high blood pressure may occur.
Additional symptoms may include:
- High blood sugar
- Hot flashes
- Loss of strength
- Night sweats
- Leg cramps
- Joint pain
- Loss of motivation
- Lowered immune system
- Low energy levels
Preventing Stress from Affecting Hormones
How can you keep stress from affecting your hormone levels? Becoming aware of when and why you feel stressed is essential. Learning to manage stress better can help, too. Some helpful tips for reducing stress to prevent hormonal imbalances include:5
- Improving sleep hygiene to ensure you’re getting plenty of quality sleep
- Exercise regularly (but avoid over-exercising, which can create more stress)
- Evaluate your work-life balance and adjust as needed
- Practice deep breathing, mindfulness, or meditation daily
- Ensure you have emotional support from friends and family
- Reduce the consumption of alcohol and caffeine
- Eat a healthy diet
- Take time for hobbies and activities you enjoy
How BHRT Helps
Besides taking measures to reduce stress, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can also help correct hormone imbalances.
While dietary and lifestyle changes may help balance hormones naturally, some individuals may need hormone support.
BHRT offers a more natural, safe way to balance hormones instead of other forms of hormone therapy. Different types of bioidentical hormones could be used depending on individual hormonal imbalance: progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and desiccated thyroid pills.
Restoring hormone balances with BHRT often alleviates symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, low energy, low libido, and more.
References
https://www.winniepalmerhospital.com/content-hub/can-stress-upset-my-hormones
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress/effects-endocrine
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/hormone-imbalances-and-how-to-treat-them
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324031#for-females
