Hello!
DE-STRESS! Its Friday and its sunny! Get through this last week day of homeschooling and let the kids off the hook for 2 days. They and you deserve it.
You have to keep your stress in check no matter how inconvenient and worrisome these times can be. There is a physiological effect of stress that can be harmful. This is as difficult for me as it is for you.
During stressful times your body creates cortisol. Cortisol is designed to get you through times of physical stress by giving you adequate sugar to burn. That is so you can physically put up a fight. It is an unnecessary response to mental stress, which is what we all have currently.
The job of cortisol is to provide blood glucose by activating production of glucose in your body. In other words, cortisol production increases blood sugar. This is just as bad as having high blood sugar with diabetes. Over time it will damage your body the same way. That is why people who are chronically stressed over time look like people who engage in other unhealthy activities. For example, like smoking. They develop vascular problems and wrinkles!
Cortisol also weakens immune function. That is really bad during a viral pandemic. Its decreases production of key immune cells in your body. Stressed people are susceptible to a host of illnesses including cancer, hypertension etc.
After years of cortisol deregulation you could develop adrenal fatigue. That is another discussion for another day, but equally as bad.
If you want to be healthy you have to manage cortisol levels. You do this through a healthy diet and exercise. It also helps to do activities to de-stress like reading or meditation. Probably the number one stress generator I can see right now is the NEWS. News gets your attention by presenting everything in an inflammatory light. Thats how they get their ratings. They do it at your expense! Step away from it, especially at bed time.
As an aside, you can see why avoiding steroid injections and pills (which are similar to cortisol) is essential. They create the same blood sugar and immunosuppressive response in your body. Now do you see why chiropractic is so important to relieve pain? That is our job-to keep you away from that stuff whenever possible!
I love the article below on ways to decrease cortisol! Hope to see a healthier you in coming weeks.
11 Natural Ways to Lower Your Cortisol Levels