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6 Hormone Changes That Occur When You’re Stressed Out

• Posted by Amelia Grant August 21, 2020 Filed in Health #health  #primary care physician  177 views
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  Did you know stress is actually good for you… when it’s temporary. . However, when it becomes chronic, it can wreak havoc on your daily life and your mental and physical health. In fact, stress affects a wide range of hormones in the body. 

  While cortisol is often the center stage when we talk about stress, other hormones are also in flux during stressful situations. Knowing what those are and how they influence your body and health will help you understand when you're stressed out and take measures to eliminate stress. In addition to an increase of cortisol levels, your body begins to produce more of some hormones and lowers the level of others when you’re stressed.

  1. Increased insulin levels 

  When cortisol increases, it affects the levels of insulin. This is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas. It helps control blood sugar levels. When cortisol levels rise, it leads to insulin spikes that negatively impact glucose metabolism.

  2. Decreased estrogen levels 

  In women with chronic stress, estrogen levels significantly decrease. This can impact the menstrual cycle and mental health. In fact, women are 1.5 to three times more likely to develop a serious depressive episode than men. Experts are now studying whether the connection between estrogen, serotonin, and mood can be to blame.

  3. Increased adrenaline levels

  During severe and chronic stress, adrenal glands produce epinephrine also called adrenaline. It’s known that adrenaline is the hormone that can sharply rise when someone's about to jump out of a plane or take a big risk at work. It, in turn, increases your heart rate, raises blood pressure and can make sweat glands work more actively.

  4. Increased prolactin levels

  Chronic stress is also able to increase prolactin. You probably know about it as a hormone that increases during breastfeeding, as it’s responsible for milk production but both men and women produce this hormone, and increased levels of it can disrupt the balance of progesterone and estrogen and might also affect emotional regulation.

  5. Increased norepinephrine levels

  Norepinephrine is also known as noradrenaline. This is another hormone that is actively produced by the body during huge stress. According to experts, prolonged stress will lead to constantly high levels of norepinephrine. This, in turn, provokes sleep issues, anxiety, irregular heartbeats, and high blood pressure.

  6. Decreased testosterone levels

  Testosterone is the main androgen hormone that is responsible for libido, muscle growth, and red blood cell production in both men and women. However chronic stress can decrease testosterone levels leading to fatigue, muscle loss, and low libido in men and women.

  3 common signs of prolonged stress

  Chronic stress can have a significant impact on your hormones resulting in unpleasant side effects. Therefore, it’s important to visit your primary care physician who will help you address this problem. Let’s look at three common signs of chronic stress: 

  1. Salt and sugar cravings.

  People with constant stress tend to consume more foods rich in salt, sugar, and fat. This is due to the fact that stress hormones raise the hunger hormone called ghrelin. Salt acts as an electrolyte and helps your body regulate blood pressure, which stress can greatly impact. While sugar cravings occur because stress provokes insulin resistance, in turn making your body unable to regulate your blood sugar properly. 

  2. Irregular periods.

  Stress-related hormonal imbalance is a common side effect of constant stress which can lead to irregular periods. Even increased pain is a symptom of hormonal imbalance, especially if you have not had it before or during cycles. 

  3. You gain weight around your midsection.

  Scientists suggest that stress might provoke an increase in belly fat due to high insulin levels. Plus, insulin increases appetite, specifically an appetite for sugar.