Stress is anything that changes our bodies balance.
Stages of stress
1. Alarm stage
2. Cortisol elevates
3. Adrenal fatigue - cortisol low.
During the alarm state our body helps us by increasing our adrenaline. Our adrenals are either producing stress hormones or reparative hormones. During stress our adrenals produce cortisol in order to put more glucose or energy into our systems, our insulin levels go up to carry these glucose to appropriate places.
Our body identifies increased cortisol as a sign of danger, a possible famine or an attack by a lion, so our bodies become efficient:
1. Our energy goes to our arms & legs (periphery)
2. Glucose is then used as food & starts saving our energy by slowing us down & cutting down bulk.
So cortisol slows our metabolism and breaks down/degrades our muscle, while insulin helps us make fat instead of burning fat. Excessive production of cortisol produces fat around our belly. When insulin levels/cortisol stay high one becomes insulin resistant. This chronic stress of our body thinking it's in famine or getting attacked by something wears out our immune system and elevates inflammation, finally causing adrenal fatigue. Stress in modern society comes from not being chased by that lion but perhaps working too hard and/or having a stressful mindset. This types of stresses causes inflammation which is the root cause of all diseases.
Sleep is our natural Relaxation Response. Sleep is our reward & gift. It is the foundation of health as during sleep, we clean & detox our brain and rejuvenate our body. Sleep is critical for our immune system, our mental and emotional state, so many functions. The adrenals govern our circadian rhythm (sleep/wake cycle). Our sleep quality is the number one regulator of cortisol rhythm. When we are in alpha theta mode we produce reparative hormones.
Belly breathing and meditation support us in getting to that reparative state, as deep breathing helps us connect to the deepest part of brain, our body and mind become one. So let's learn to sleep and breathe like a baby!
Current news:
The Mysterious Link Between COVID-19 and Sleep
The coronavirus can cause insomnia and long-term changes in our nervous systems. But sleep could also be a key to ending the pandemic.
Read in The Atlantic: https://apple.news/AmV_Sr3FUTe6WLwk27bmXsA
(Note: the definition of Pandemic changed more info here:
Had it not been for the World Health Organization changing the definition of “pandemic,” COVID-19 would no longer be an issue. The WHO’s original definition of a pandemic specified simultaneous epidemics worldwide “with enormous numbers of deaths and illnesses” Dr. Mercola
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