Understanding the Damaging Effects of Stress and Cortisol

Let’s talk about stress and cortisol. I’ve seen many people get on the right track with their diet and exercise—but they're still stuck in fight-or-flight mode.

Being in fight-or-flight mode, having elevated cortisol and adrenaline, for a long period isn’t healthy.

Chronic stress has been known to negatively affect the body in many ways, including:

• Shrinking your grey matter

• Shrinking your thymus gland

• Creating muscle atrophy

• Decreasing testosterone

• Running the body on sugar (even when you’re not eating sugar)

• Disrupting healthy digestion

• Reducing quality sleep

Chronic worry and stress can also lead to ulcers, inflammation, and disease.

An interesting study measured 39 people’s cortisol levels before and after a 45-minute art therapy session. This study found a significant reduction of cortisol in participants.

I have found that hobbies are a fantastic way to stop the fixation on stress and move your attention to something more positive.

DATA:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...