What helps cortisol levels?
One of the trainers here at The Foundry just wrote a blog post on dealing with cortisol.
Cortisol and abdominal fat.
Here's a quick snippet from the post.
One of the trainers here at The Foundry just wrote a blog post on dealing with cortisol.
Cortisol and abdominal fat.
Here's a quick snippet from the post.
Dealing with our client base in the heart of the City means that we often see people who show the signs of their high stress lifestyles in their body shape. The reason for this is that high levels of the stress hormone cortisol are strongly related to high levels of abdominal fat, which is easily assessed through skinfold testing and measurements such as the waist/ hip ratio. In fact, research is now showing that even in younger women, who are genetically and hormonally more inclined to store fat on the hips and thighs, the more stressed they are, the more they actually store fat on the waist line. It doesn?t help that so many young women are on calorie restrictive diets either, which tends to increase cortisol and raise stress (but more to come on that in a later piece).
Many other factors play a part in this, for example we know that people with adrenal health issues tend to have poorer sleep patterns, they often drink more, tend to eat more sugar and refined carbohydrates, and of course genetics also play a part. However, it is hard to escape the fact that chronic stress will drive many of these habits and continue to make the problems worse. Studies consistently find that women in particular with higher waist hip ratios (more stored fat at the waistline) secrete more cortisol in response to stress but interestingly often show poorer coping skills than those women with lower waist/hip ratios.
Many other factors play a part in this, for example we know that people with adrenal health issues tend to have poorer sleep patterns, they often drink more, tend to eat more sugar and refined carbohydrates, and of course genetics also play a part. However, it is hard to escape the fact that chronic stress will drive many of these habits and continue to make the problems worse. Studies consistently find that women in particular with higher waist hip ratios (more stored fat at the waistline) secrete more cortisol in response to stress but interestingly often show poorer coping skills than those women with lower waist/hip ratios.
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