Hormonal Chemistry of Stress

Stress and anxiety are disruptive, and ultimately harmful to the normal chemical balance of the human body. The sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system have two steroid hormones that originate from the adrenal gland and are responsible for maintaining a neutral middle ground between stress and rest.

Cortisol is released promptly after exposure to a stressful situation, and is critical for the short-term “fight-or-flight” response because of how the hormone prepares the body for escape or confrontation. In combination with epinephrine, cortisol encourages energy production and sends a normally resting body into a state of internal frenzy as respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate increase rapidly. Elevated levels of cortisol, commonly associated with chronic stress, can increase a person’s predisposition to diabetes and cardiovascular disease because of the high blood sugar levels that result from energy production. It may also be linked to insomnia, chronic fatigue syndrome, thyroid disorders, dementia, and depression.

The aforementioned reasons are why stress management practices have become necessary. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is known as the anti-aging hormone because of all the benefits it possesses but it is processed from the same raw materials as cortisol. If the body is constantly stressed, more cortisol is made than DHEA and DHEA-dependent systems begin to function poorly, such as memory. DHEA and acetylcholine act in opposition to cortisol as a part of the parasympathetic nervous system, attempting to return the body to its “rest-and-digest” form. Low levels of stress are essential to having the best mental wellbeing and physical fitness and can easily be achieved through the practice of mindful breathing and relaxation. Slow, deep, and long inhalations allow for the bronchioles to expand and make the process of gas exchange more efficient between the alveoli of the lungs and the capillaries leading out to main blood streams. Also, as the bronchioles expand to a much larger size than when a person is breathing shallowly, it triggers the parasympathetic nervous system to bring it back to its resting state while simultaneously producing the hormones mentioned and maintaining a low cortisol-to-DHEA ratio that is critical to maintaining good health. Consistent practice of mindful breathing will alter the hormone fluctuation and biochemistry of the body indefinitely for better overall stress management.