Dr. Casey Greene, PharmD, IFMCP

How Chronic Stress Disrupts Hormones and 4 Proven Strategies to Regain Balance

We all face stress from time to time, but when stress becomes constant or excessive, it can cause problems with our internal stress support system. This can lead to a whole slew of problems, including, but not limited to:

- Worsened ability to handle stress appropriately

- Extreme anxiety or even panic attacks

- Increased blood sugar levels

- Energy and mood swings

- Increased weight gain (from high cortisol and blood sugar levels)

- Impaired thyroid and metabolic function

- Multiple hormonal imbalances & resulting symptoms

- Chronic fatigue

- Impaired time and quality of sleep

- Impaired overall ability to function

We’ll explore how chronic stress affects your adrenal glands, leading to adrenal dysfunction, which you might have also heard of called adrenal fatigue. While we no longer believe your adrenals become fatigued as much as they do dysfunctional, we’ll discuss how to maintain stress and support your adrenal glands with supplements, lifestyle changes, and specialized lab testing. 

Rest assured, there are ways we can prime our stress support system to better handle stress. And I say this despite the same stressors in your everyday life.

 

What Is Chronic Stress and How Does It Affect Your Hormones?

Your adrenal glands produce hormones that help regulate your body's response to stress. One of the main hormones they release is cortisol, which helps your body handle stressful situations. Cortisol helps control blood sugar levels, reduce inflammation, and regulate your metabolism.

When your adrenal glands are healthy, they produce the right amount of cortisol at the right times. But when you’re under chronic stress (stress that lasts for a long time), your adrenal glands can fall victim to adrenal dysfunction.

DHEA is another critical hormone produced by the adrenal glands. DHEA is like the counterbalance to cortisol. Unfortunately, when chronic stress goes on for too long, DHEA levels can become depleted. This leaves people with a whole list of symptoms, including anxiety, poor mood, poor libido, fatigue, and more.

 

What is Chronic Stress?

Chronic stress happens when you feel stress over a long period of time. It can come from many different sources, including work pressure, financial problems, relationship issues, or even health concerns. 

When your body is under stress, it activates something called the fight or flight response, which prepares your body to face danger. This is a good thing in short bursts, but when it happens constantly, it can take a toll on your body.

When stress never seems to go away, your adrenal glands are constantly producing stress hormones like cortisol. Over time, this can lead to adrenal dysfunction, where your adrenal glands no longer help you maintain stress optimally.

 

Understanding Adrenal Dysfunction and Its Stages

Adrenal dysfunction happens when your adrenal glands maladapt due to the long term demands of chronic stress. There are three main stages of adrenal dysfunction, and they all need to be addressed differently:

 

Stage 1: Alarm Stage (High Cortisol): Alarm Stage – Your adrenal glands are working overtime to keep up with the stress, and cortisol levels are typically high much of the day and even night.

Stage 2: Resistance Stage (Declining Cortisol): Resistance Stage – Over time, your adrenal glands become tired, and your cortisol levels start to drop, even though you still feel stressed.

Stage 3: Exhaustion Stage (Low Cortisol): Exhaustion Stage – At this stage, your adrenal glands are maladapted so that they don’t produce enough cortisol to meet your body’s needs. This can lead to difficulty waking, extreme fatigue, trouble concentrating, mood swings, and even trouble with normal daily functions, work, or relationships.

 

Common Symptoms of Adrenal Dysfunction

Adrenal dysfunction can cause a wide range of symptoms, including:

- Chronic fatigue – You feel tired all the time, even after a full night's sleep.

- Difficulty maintaining stress – Small problems feel overwhelming.

- Cravings for salty or sugary foods – Your body tries to get quick energy from these foods.

- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep – You may feel "wired but tired" at night.

- Weight gain, especially around the belly – High cortisol can lead to weight gain, particularly in the midsection.

- Mood swings or irritability – Hormonal imbalances can cause emotional ups and downs.

- Weakened immune system – You may catch colds or other infections more easily.

 

Want personalized stress support options? Contact the ConsultRX team today for expert guidance and testing.

 

4 Key Strategies to Maintain Chronic Stress and Support Adrenal Health

If you’re dealing with chronic stress and suspect you might have adrenal dysfunction, don’t worry. There are many ways to maintain stress and support your adrenal glands. Here are some key strategies:

 

Light Support Techniques

Learning how to maintain light intake can make surprising improvements to both stress and sleep. Here are a few simple techniques you can try:

- Maximize sunlight exposure upon waking. This helps start the chemical cascade that affects your cortisol and melatonin levels for the remainder of the day, or your circadian rhythm. 

- Minimize light exposure as the sun goes down. This will allow cortisol levels to decrease and melatonin levels to increase as your bedtime nears. Heavy light exposure (overhead lights, TV, computers, phones, etc.) will only interrupt your sleep patterns. If nothing else, try to dim these lights as much as possible. 

 

Stress Maintenance Techniques

Learning how to maintain stress can help take the pressure off your adrenal glands. Here are a few simple techniques you can try:

- Deep Breathing: Practice deep breathing exercises to help calm your nervous system and reduce stress.

- Mindfulness Meditation: Mindfulness and meditation can help you stay present and reduce worry about the future.

- Exercise: Regular physical activity can help your body cope with stress but avoid overdoing it. Too much exercise can actually increase stress on your adrenal glands.

- Sleep: Getting enough sleep is crucial for adrenal health. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

 

Supplements for Stress and Adrenal Support

There are several supplements that are studied to help maintain a healthy stress response. Some top mentions include the below. If you’re not sure where to start with all the options, then reach out to the team at ConsultRX for expert guidance.

 

Ashwagandha: This adaptogenic herb helps the body support stress and supports healthy cortisol levels. Some studies even show particular extracts can lower cortisol levels by 25%! It also supports optimal sleep by keeping cortisol levels at bay. 

L-Theanine: While this one isn’t shown to lower cortisol levels, it does have notable effects on brain wave patterns and is thought to increase alpha brain waves associated with relaxation.

Combination Formulas: These can provide a great foundation by including multiple ingredients that work by different mechanisms. 

Active Methyl B's 180ct: B vitamins, especially B5 (pantothenic acid) and B6, play a key role in adrenal health and stress maintenance.

Magnesium (Chelated): This mineral is important for relaxation and stress maintenance, yet most people have suboptimal levels. It can also help improve sleep quality. Make sure to get high-absorption chelated forms such as magnesium glycinate or malate. 

DHEA: This one is critical in balancing stress maintenance with cortisol. However, we don’t recommend supplementing without lab testing to confirm the need. DHEA is a powerful hormone that affects multiple other hormone levels downstream. Consult a professional for proper dosing, which varies significantly between menand women. 

Phosphatidylserine: This supplement can help lower cortisol levels, especially if they’re too high in the evening to allow optimal sleep. 

Adrenal Glandular Extracts: This glandular extract should only be used in select cases of stage 3 adrenal dysfunction under professional guidance. However, it can be a powerful tool for short-term use by select people. 

 

Saliva Lab Testing for Adrenal Health

Want to get really targeted in your stress and/or sleep support strategies? Then opt for specialized saliva testing. It’s typically done by saliva collection 4-6 times per day and shows your cortisol curve for the entire day. This allows for a  deeper assessment than a single collection. 

This type of testing is almost never done in the typical doctor’s office, where SSRIs and similar medications are the standard go-to. Saliva stress testing can be an amazing way to look at possible root cause issues. 

If you’d like to learn more about saliva testing for stress, adrenals, and sleep, then reach out to the team at ConsultRX to learn more. Their experts can guide you through the best selections for convenient, in-home testing shipped directly to your door.  

 

Key Takeaways: How to Regain Balance

Chronic stress can take a serious toll on your adrenal glands over time, leading to adrenal dysfunction. This goes on to disrupt your overall hormone balance and impair thyroid function. 

The good news is that you can take steps to maintain your stress, support your adrenal health, and support a healthy stress support system.

 

Check out our stress support options at Pharmacist Formulations for the highest quality ingredients, study-based dosing, and pharmacist vetted stress support supplements. 

 

For more insights on Ashwagandha’s role in stress relief, readthis guide on Ayurvedic medicine.

 

Disclaimer

The FDA does not review any compounded medication for safety or efficacy. The information contained in this article is not meant to diagnose or treat a specific healthcare condition but should be used as educational-only material. 

 

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