Incorporate Daily Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques (such as Breathing and Meditation or Prayer) AND Consider Yoga, Massage, Health and or Life Coaching or Mindful Yogic Breathing Practices.

Solutions May Include:
Meditation (Contemplative Practice)
Yoga (postures)
Hugging (8 per day)
Yogic Breathing, Daily Practice
Tai Chi or Qigong
­­Increase Nutrient Dense Foods
Decrease Sugar Consumption
­increase Self Care
Decrease Caffeine Consumption
Massage
Decrease Processed Food Consumption

Excess Cortisol May Cause:
Hormone Imbalance
Infertility
Memory Loss
Inflammation (Pain in Body)
PMS
Weight Gain, Obesity, and/or Pre-diabetes
Cravings (sugar, etc…)
Fatigue or Wired Feelings
Insomnia
Anxiety Attacks
Abdominal Fat/Metabolic Syndrome
Neck & Back Pain
Anxiety, Irritability & Palpitations
Loss of Sexual Desire

What is Cortisol? 

Cortisol is the primary “stress hormone” produced in your adrenal glands, and it’s designed to quickly save you from danger.  It has 3 important jobs: 

Raises Blood Sugar (muscles need this to run away; “fight or flight”)
Raises Blood Pressure
Modulates immune function

How Does the Stress Hormone Cortisol Affect Your Body?

The Good:  Optimally, cortisol creates the surge of energy, focus, motivation that makes us feel highly productive.
The Bad:  It takes about 15-18 minutes for you to hit “the wall” and begin to feel the effects of the ensuing blood sugar drop which makes you feel jittery, anxious, and irritable.  Longer term effects of excess cortisol can lead to feeling “wired but not tired”.
The “Ugly”:  The brain’s hippocampus is where you integrate memory.  High cortisol levels can shrink the hippocampus and diminish memory. Excess cortisol can also also shorten your telomeres (the caps on your chromosomes that keep them from deteriorating); in other  words, shortened telomeres accelerate aging (see Dr Elizabeth Blackburn’s research on stress and telomeres, UCSF).