Large amount of cortisol are produced when a person is under stress. Cortisol is the stress hormone secreted when a person is always in stressful events causing the endocrine system stays revved up. Cortisol is very important in helping to control excessive inflammation, maintaining blood pressure and connective tissues. It helps improve a person’s sense of well-being.
This stress hormone, cortisol, remains elevated when the body is exposed to prolonged or chronic stress. Cortisol levels can remain elevated throughout the day and, for others, well into the night. This results to sleep problems such as insomnia and sleep disturbances. The brain
eventually loses its sensitivity to cortisol and is unable to regulate cortisol production. This causes the body to produce even more cortisol.Obesity and cortisol
People who under chronic stress have elevated levels of cortisol and insulin. If insulin levels remain elevated, the body responds by storing fat, the elevated levels preventing the body from burning stored fat for energy. Most overweight individuals can’t break out of this cycle since elevated cortisol stimulates a person’s appetite, producing a near constant craving for sugars and carbohydrates during the day – foods that keep insulin levels elevated. In the end, these people keep their bodies programmed for fat storage.
High cortisol and high insulin levels combine to create the ideal formula for obesity, and especially to accumulate fat in the truncal area. Truncal obesity is also called apple-shaped obesity because excessive weight is carried in the middle of the body, the abdominal area. People with this condition often exercise for longer periods and at greater intensity to try to shed the extra pounds.
Unfortunately, this usually only elevates cortisol levels further. When people with high cortisol levels diet, they usually end up breaking down muscle tissue into glucose. This can eventually lead to muscle weakness and muscle atrophy. The result is that they lose muscle and, in turn, decrease their metabolic rate, which leads to even greater weight gain. Meanwhile, any excess sugar intake is generally converted to fat – usually fat that is stored in the abdomen.
Truncal obesity greatly increases a person’s risk for developing heart disease, hypertension, syndrome X, type 2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, gallstones, and certain cancers.
Syndrome X and type 2 diabetes
At normal levels, cortisol counterbalances the effects of insulin. However, elevated cortisol decreases the transportation of blood sugar at the cellular level. In essence, elevated cortisol decreases cells’ sensitivity to insulin, which leads to insulin resistance. The person who develops insulin resistance and continues to eat a diet high in sugar or processed carbohydrates will generally develop Syndrome X, “metabolic syndrome.”
Metabolic syndrome is actually the name given to a cluster of metabolic disturbances that include elevated blood sugar, elevated
blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and increased body fat, especially in the truncal area.Sex hormone difficulties
Cortisol is a major marker of a complex “control loop” that regulates the sex hormones. Elevated cortisol is associated with a drop in DHEA and testosterone, which can lead to a decreased sex drive and erectile dysfunction. In women, elevated cortisol is associated with lower levels of progesterone and testosterone. During periods of chronic stress, progesterone is actually converted to cortisol in the body, which can lead to a progesterone deficiency. This, in turn, can lead to menstrual problems and PMS, as well as significant menopausal symptoms. Levels of estrogen become imbalanced in the presence of high cortisol.
Memory loss
Physicians have known for decades that individuals with Cushing’s syndrome develop memory problems, because in these people the hippocampus begins to atrophy or shrink. The hippocampus is the portion of the brain most involved in memory. The shrinking effect occurs because the neurons or brain cells in this part of the brain lose their ability to take up the glucose they need to remain functioning. Recent research has revealed that high cortisol levels are associated with atrophy or shrinkage of the hippocampus. The memory loss that occurs may be related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Depression
Chronic stress has commonly been associated with depression. Elevated cortisol levels cause an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, notably serotonin and dopamine.
In normal patients, dexamethasone is a synthetic form of cortisone that exerts a “negative feedback signal” to turn off cortisol production. However, many depressed patients are resistant to dexamethasone, and they continue secreting cortisol despite receiving this potent cortisone medication.
Bone loss
Excessive cortisol has been known for years to cause osteoporosis. Individuals with Cushing’s disease and patients on long-term prednisone or other synthetic forms of cortisone are predisposed to osteoporosis.
Decreased immune function
Elevated cortisol levels are associated with as much as a 50 percent reduction of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses. Elevated cortisol levels increase a person’s susceptibility for developing recurrent infections. Students in one study were shown to be more prone to catch a cold, develop cold sores, or get infections when stressed during final exams week.