Is stress wrecking your hormones? The cortisol-testosterone interaction

Stress is an inevitable part of life and has a very important purpose. Some people thrive on stress and find it motivates them to get a job promotion. When stress becomes chronic, it becomes problematic and interferes with your cortisol and testosterone levels.

Cortisol

When you receive cortisol in short bursts, it is good for you because it helps you stay alert and focused and ensures you can react to any challenges. When there is non-stop stress, your cortisol levels remain high for too long a time, and this causes several health issues. These issues include acne, fatigue, and weight gain.

Testosterone

Testosterone is the male sex hormone, but it plays other crucial roles in men’s lives. For example, it regulates your bone mass, mood, bone density, and energy.

Long-Term Stress

When you are experiencing stress, both your hormones and nerves send signals to your adrenal glands to release more hormones. One of those hormones is “cortisol.” As cortisol increases, your heart rate and energy levels increase so that you can enact a fight-or-flight response. This is preparation for a situation that may be dangerous or harmful to you. After the danger passes, the hormones decrease to their normal levels.

This is not what happens when your stress is chronic. When exposure to cortisol is long-term, it undermines your bodily processes. This is the reason that you are susceptible to depression, anxiety, obesity, lung issues, and heart disease.

Interaction between Cortisol and Testosterone

When you are experiencing stress, cortisol and testosterone work against each other. High levels of cortisol in your bloodstream lower testosterone production in your body. In a high-stress environment, the body prioritizes cortisol over testosterone, so when cortisol increases, testosterone decreases.

Cortisol prevents the hypothalamus from releasing gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH signals the pituitary gland to release luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). LH stimulates the testes to produce testosterone. Therefore, when cortisol prevents GnRH from being released so that testosterone production can take place, it is directly responsible for stopping testosterone from being made.

Managing Stress to Protect Your Testosterone Levels:

Physical Activity

It isn’t difficult to reduce your stress levels with physical activity. Any physical activity that you choose will work to lower these levels. While you exercise, the body releases endorphins or “feel-good” hormones, and they distract you from your worries. Exercise acts as the fight-or-flight response and relieves stress in the process. It has the effect of improving your immune system, digestive system, and cardiovascular system.

Sleep Pattern

People state that they do not sleep as well when they are experiencing periods of stress. Because of stress, they sleep less, and 21% of respondents stated that they felt even more stressed because of this. The medical community recommends that adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, and this will significantly reduce stress levels.

Balanced Diet

When you are under stress, your body needs more nutrients, energy, and oxygen. The best thing to do is avoid the comfort foods you like to consume during stressful times because these are high in fat and calories but low in nutrients. Stress also makes people skip meals, but this is not a good plan. You must eat nutritious, balanced meals so that your body can properly combat stress.

Stress also causes people to consume high-calorie snack foods that do not have any beneficial nutrients. You must also avoid foods like these. Chronic stress makes people crave several unhealthy foods high in calories, fat, and sugar. Try to avoid these foods so that you do not gain weight during this time of stress.

Relaxation

When you begin to feel stress, your body responds by sending out the hormones above that increase your heart rate and blood pressure. Relaxation techniques work to reduce the effects of the stress response. The relaxation response directly reduces your heart rate and blood pressure. You have several options for relaxing when you experience stress, and they include the following:

• Tai chi
• Yoga
• Biofeedback
• Meditation
• Deep breathing

Socialization

Humans live their lives as members of a society. We are born into some of these societies, and we join others, but both shape our identities. When asked what they receive from social interaction, some respondents stated that interactions with other people reduce their stress levels as they can put things in perspective with help from these friends.

When you socialize with people, the brain sends out neurotransmitters that protect you in the present, but they also provide you with this protection into the future. For example, you can shake hands or high-five someone, and your brain will release oxytocin. Oxytocin is known as the “love hormone,” and it promotes positive feelings. It also lowers your cortisol levels, so it lowers the amount of stress you are under.

During social interactions, the brain also releases dopamine, which gives us a little high.

If you are a man and your testosterone levels are decreasing because of stress or other factors, testosterone replacement therapy or TRT may be an option for you. TRT can help restore testosterone levels and boost energy, muscle mass, and mood. To find out the details on TRT, from the benefits to the price, ask, “How much is testosterone without insurance?”