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The adrenal glands are two walnut-sized organs that sit just on top of each of the kidneys. Though small, they are definitely mighty, producing and secreting hormones involved in many different regulatory functions in the body. These include maintaining proper water and mineral balance, metabolism, blood pressure, blood sugar, immune function, and, of course, stress response.
First, let’s take a look at what happens in a normal stress response.
The body kicks into gear at the first sign of a potential stressor—you suddenly hear your kiddo crying in the other room, for example. The amygdala in the brain, which is responsible for emotion, registers this and alerts the hypothalamus, which then flags the sympathetic nervous system. This is where the adrenal glands are called into play, signalled to secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline.
These two hormones then help you respond to the situation at hand. Your muscles are engaged, allowing you to spring into action and get to your child quicker, for example. Your respiratory rate and blood pressure also rise, sending more oxygen to the brain to help you quickly work out what’s going on with bub. Basically, your body equips you to deal with the stressor and de-escalate the situation.
- Lifestyle and stress
- Trauma
- Successive pregnancies
- Electromagnetic stress
- Toxic burden: mercury and other chemical toxins
- Unbalanced nutrient intake, dietary factors and stimulants
If the stressor remains past that first burst of adrenaline, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is then triggered. In a nutshell, you could think of the HPA axis as the body's central control system when it comes to dealing with stress. A series of hormone releases ultimately leads to the adrenal glands sending cortisol out into the bloodstream.
Known as "the stress hormone," Cortisol enables the body to stay on high alert longer. This means more energy and brainpower to deal with whatever it is that’s stressing you out—more mum magic to power through and get bub to calm down one way or another!
However, this comes at a price. While cortisol helps you navigate immediate challenges, this process requires several adjustments in other systems in the body. Primarily, this involves increasing sugar in the bloodstream. To free up the capacity to deal with the perceived threat, several processes that are deemed temporarily “non-essential” are also put on hold, such as immune response and digestive function.
Once the issue is taken care of and the stressor is no longer present, chemical signals are sent within the HPA axis to bring the body back to its natural, balanced state—a self-regulating feedback loop.
It’s when the stress is repeated and persistent that problems arise and adrenal fatigue may occur.
Imagine the HPA axis—your stress response control system—as a switch. It flicks on when you need it to and off again when it has done its work. Now, imagine if you just constantly had it switched on. Much like a battery, your system would get drained after some time. Or, if you kept flicking the switch on and off quickly, it would simply break. This is what we call burnout.
In essence, adrenal fatigue is a dysfunction in the HPA axis. Unable to switch off, the adrenal glands keep pumping out cortisol, flooding the system. This in itself causes several health issues, such as high blood sugar, hypertension, and compromised immunity.
Taking it a step further, the adrenal glands could eventually become depleted and unable to produce any more cortisol, which is equally (if not more) harmful.
While it is indeed cortisol known as “the stress hormone,” it has so many other responsibilities in keeping us alive. It is essential for managing metabolism, regulating blood sugar, blood pressure, and the circadian rhythm or the sleep-wake cycle, controlling immune response, and suppressing inflammation. So, just imagine the damage that depleted cortisol levels could cause!
This is why adrenal fatigue can manifest in a variety of signs and symptoms in many different areas and systems in the body. Some of these may include:
…among others. This is why the more stress you are exposed to, the more off-kilter you feel and the less your body can take care of itself.
Taking a good look at your lifestyle, stressors, and stress levels is a good starting point for figuring out if you could possibly be experiencing adrenal fatigue.
When it comes to assessing adrenal health and testing for actual fatigue though, functional testing can give a more accurate picture of what’s truly going on in your body.
The Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) test is a reliable way to measure overall HPA axis function by examining correlated cortisol levels. This non-invasive test draws a wealth of information on your adrenal function, simply through the collection of five saliva samples throughout the day, from waking to bedtime.
In a normal, balanced state, cortisol levels naturally begin to rise upon waking up. After 30 minutes, they will have risen by about 50%. At 60 minutes, they should peak and start to fall, continuing to decline throughout the day.
On the flipside, results outside this normal range could show either elevated or flat-lined levels—both indicating a dysfunction in the HPA axis.
Your CAR test results can be key in your journey to prevent or treat burnout. In collaboration with a holistic healthcare provider, you can then map out a naturopathic plan to target your specific stage of adrenal fatigue. This plan of action would include an individualised combination of interventions in nutrition, behavioural strategies, and/or herbal solutions, all tailor-fit based on your results.
Many parents know this reality all too well: when you have a mild cold, you can just ignore it and persevere through it. When it comes to your child, though, you would never let any discomfort last, much less through the night. So, you stay up with cool water and a towel, doing what you do—taking care of your child. But, what about the next morning, when you’re left with a knot forming behind your neck? What about the ache in your back? The uneasiness in your chest?
Sure, we want to be at our best for our kids all the time, but to put it simply: you can’t pour from an empty cup. It is essential to protect and nourish yourself against burnout to keep being the best version of the parent you want to be.
And, left unchecked, adrenal fatigue and cortisol depletion could lead to serious long-term conditions such as:
In a perfect world, it would be easy to say that the answer is simple—just remove all stress from your life, right? But since we all know that’s much easier said than done, focus on the next best thing: managing stress levels and building resilience. It isn’t so much about what life throws your way, but how you deal with it and how your body is able to respond that matters.
People handle stress in many ways. You may notice that you are able to hold up better than everyone else. Or, at the end of the spectrum, you may observe that it takes you longer than others to recover from stressful situations. This all boils down to resilience.
As a whole, resilience is your ability to deal with challenges and less-than-ideal circumstances. Psychologically, it could mean mental fitness and emotional stability. Physically, remember how the body’s stress response system is a self-regulating feedback loop? Well, you can think of resilience as your body’s ability to bring everything back to a nice, balanced state and therefore minimise the impact of stress.
How do you know if you might need to work on building resilience? Here are some signs to look out for.
Being highly irritable
You may find it challenging to adapt to changes, especially if these are negative. Even minor stumbling blocks might throw you for a loop—you might find yourself getting upset, feeling overwhelmed, and struggling to regain composure or “get over it.”
Falling ill easily
Have you noticed any patterns as to when you usually come down with a cold or start feeling physically run down? Observe the challenging periods in your life—things like moving house, an extra busy week at work, or your child starting school. If you find yourself down with a sudden illness the following week, this may mean your system is not as resilient as it could be.
An inclination to self-medicate through vices
Mid-afternoon pick-me-ups such as coffee, late-night snacks, and even pharmaceuticals have slowly crept their way into your lifestyle. These might have become staples in your day, equipping you with temporary bursts of energy and mental capacity to just power through and get the job done.
The good news is there’s a whole range of ways to help build resilience and prevent burnout. Broadly, these all fall under 3 key factors that affect your ability to bounce back:
Even better, looking at health from a holistic point of view, these are all interconnected. This means that making even one small change will likely make a huge difference in the bigger picture.
So, what can you do to combat stress and treat adrenal fatigue naturally?
Keeping in tip-top shape is one way to improve physical health. Light daily workouts have been shown to help lower cortisol levels. Exercise also triggers the release of endorphins, which are hormones that elevate mood and promote relaxation. Be careful not to overdo it though, as too much exercise can elevate cortisol. Consider yoga, taking a walk, or even dancing and running around with your child.
Exercise during the day also helps you drift off more easily at night, which is great because getting enough high-quality sleep is another important way to improve your physical health. Depriving the body of the sleep that it needs also means denying it the chance to do much of the repair, restoration, and processing it needs to do.
When you think of stress management and mental health, gut health probably isn’t one of the first things that come to mind. But perhaps it should be, given the fact that 90% of the body’s mood-regulating chemicals are actually produced in the gut. Studies have shown that a deficiency in healthy bacteria in the gut may lead to lowered resilience and poor stress response. Ask a holistic practitioner about pre- and probiotics that can help keep your gut happy and healthy.
Again, it is impossible to separate mental from physical well-being. It’s no surprise then that mindful, intentional meal planning can work wonders for your resilience and preventing adrenal fatigue. Dealing with stressful circumstances tends to use up a lot of the body’s reserves of certain nutrients. To restore balance, you might want to consciously include food with more b vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and omega 3 in your diet. Work with a holistic practitioner to devise a plan that will help you truly nourish your body and support your adrenal glands.
While it may be second nature by now to go for a cuppa whenever you need an extra boost to get through the day, skipping stimulants might be a good idea. Excessive caffeine worsens symptoms of stress—think palpitations, jitters, and that overall feeling of being ‘wired.’ On top of that, it can also get in the way of quality sleep. If you just can't do without a little kick of energy, try swapping out coffee for green tea. Although it still has a small amount of caffeine, it also contains L-theanine, a stress-reducing nutrient.
Everyone has unique sources and triggers of stress, so why should our coping techniques be any different? Building resilience is all about finding what works for you and adding these to your toolkit.
For some, practising mindfulness through yoga, journaling, or breathing exercises works. These and other grounding activities can help hit the pause button on the fight-or-flight response, effectively breaking the stress cycle.
Others tap into happy hormones by fostering meaningful connections with others. Surrounding yourself with a supportive, positive community (friends, special interest or hobby clubs, social purpose groups) can help redirect anxious energy and boost your mood.
And, for those who are looking for an extra helping hand, adaptogens may be the answer. If stress is a natural consequence of our lives as parents and caregivers, then there must be a natural remedy for it—such is the world, balanced and ordered. All we have to do is tap into it, and adaptogens may just be the best natural remedy for stress.
Adaptogens are nature's restoring and revitalizing ingredients. They are medicinal herbs that influence psychological as well as physical processes. Simply put, when you use an adaptogen, you are better suited to handle stress.
Just as the name implies, adaptogens help you adapt. They work like an elastic band, allowing you to both stretch AND return to a neutral state more easily in challenging times. In simple terms, these powerful herbs can improve your stress threshold, making it easier for you to stay calm and collected in situations where you would usually be riled up.
Adaptogens are also especially great for new mothers—who are going through arguably one of the most stressful times ever—helping reverse the biological strain caused by pregnancy and lactation.
You can think of adaptogens as power-ups for the stress pathway. Dynamic in their mechanism of action, adaptogens mainly work by impacting the HPA axis. These herbs enter your bloodstream and identify what form of stress relief is required at that time. Based on whatever your specific state is at the moment, adaptogens may increase cortisol levels or reduce them.
Adaptogens may be sitting pretty in your garden, but that doesn't mean you can just pluck a few leaves and begin chewing them. These potent botanicals come in form of dried herbs, powders, teas, and liquid herbal tonics.
3 types of adaptogens have been identified:
1. Stimulating adaptogens
Korean ginseng, licorice – these stimulants help your body keep up with the challenges it faces. This makes them suitable for when causes of stress are chronic: the daily grind at work, keeping up with a toddler or handling a string of customers every day.
2. Restorative adaptogens
Withania, Siberian ginseng – this class of adaptogens minimises the impact of stress on your body. Instead of amping you up, it helps you feel balanced, sturdy, and calm—a stressor you would have rated a 7 out of 10 will instead feel like a 4.
3. Nootropic adaptogens
Rhodiola, skullcap, lion's mane, Brahmi, Gotu kola – these adaptogens grant you enhanced mental capacity. Their mechanisms are neuroprotective and anti-fatigue. This means you’ll be able to think harder and focus longer despite internal and external distractions (like a playful kiddo when you’re working from home!)
| Gotu kola | Centella Asiatica | Improves brain function, mental clarity, and judgment. It also aids sleep and focus. |
| Siberian ginseng | Eleutherococcus senticosus | Stimulating in nature, this herb improves mental capacity and general endurance. |
| Ashwagandha | Withania somnifera | Known for its calming and restorative nature, it is one natural remedy for anxiety. |
| Korean ginseng | Panax ginseng | Improves brain function as well as overall health. It strengthens the immune system, protecting you from colds and fevers. |
| Rhodiola | Rhodiola rosea | Helps the body adapt to and resist stress, especially the physical kind. It boosts stamina. |
| Brahmi | Bacopa monnieri | A natural mood boost, Brahmi helps you feel better by reducing cortisol levels. |
| Lion's mane | Hericium erinaceus | This medicinal mushroom relieves symptoms of depression and the frequency of panic attacks. Recent studies have also validated its use in traditional medicine as an effective way to regulate the immune system. |
| Skullcap | Skullcap laterifolia | Enhances brain function by protecting the nervous system from damage. It relieves tension and anxiety. |
| Cordyceps | CP-4 | An inflammation fighter helps maintain balanced hormone levels even under stress. |
| Licorice | Glycyrrhiza glabra | Reduces stress by preventing cortisol from being released. |
When you feel a lack of energy, you need a stimulant adaptogen. And when they rise beyond the threshold, you need a restorative adaptation. This implies that you should take a stimulant, e.g. Gotu kola in the morning to get you through the day, and Withania at night to help you rest well.
Of course, it is always best to work with your naturopath to monitor your stress levels and create your specific plan of action. Before starting any herbal remedy for stress and anxiety, consult a holistic practitioner about your specific circumstances. There is limited clinical research on the use of adaptogens throughout pregnancy. People with bleeding disorders and those treating hypertension should also use adaptogens with extreme caution.
While stress is part of modern life, that doesn’t mean we have to suffer because of it. Left unaddressed, it can lead to adrenal fatigue and all the serious consequences that come with it. But we have the power to keep that from happening.
More than the challenges we inevitably face, what matters is how we equip ourselves and our bodies to respond to those challenges. Start building your resilience toolkit so you can continue to be the best you can be.
https://www.premierhealth.com/your-health/articles/women-wisdom-wellness-/beware-high-levels-of-cortisol-the-stress-hormone
https://www.webmd.com/balance/adaptogens-what-to-know
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3991026/https://www.healthline.com/health/adaptogenic-herbs
https://bioadaptivemedicine.com/new-blog/2016/6/22/adaptogens-improve-resistance-to-stress
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