Forget “Big Brother” watching you, your brain and nervous system are surveying what you’re up to 24/7, and they use that information to determine your cortisol levels.
Your internal wiring is far more crucial to your health and how you age than almost anything else out there.
When you repeatedly skip workouts because you’re too busy, rely on takeout because meal prep feels like too much, or don’t stay home and truly rest, your nervous system takes note and pumps cortisol higher.
Not prioritizing your needs first in daily life decisions directly contributes to cortisol imbalances, anxiety, insomnia, belly fat, hot flashes, night sweats, and even premenstrual tension and dysphoria (PMS and PMDD).
Sure, in your 20s you can get away with booking your schedule to the max.
By the time you’re approaching 50, it gets trickier. Recovery from travel, workouts, and even day-to-day life becomes non-negotiable.
Observing your lifestyle and how it impacts your mood, health, weight, aches and pains, and chronic symptoms is key.
I’ll call myself out as an example.
Experience has taught me what to eat and how I need to rest after a trip to Tacoma to see patients.
But sometimes we have amnesia and forget what happens when we don’t hold our lifestyle to its highest standards.
Last week, I jumped right back into work on Monday here in Wisconsin and held meetings in the evenings.
Normally, I keep my schedule light the week I return but I didn’t.
I was waking up at 3–4 a.m. every morning, and my mood dipped noticeably.
Hydration wasn’t on point, I gravitated toward more carbs than usual, and my weight went up three pounds…despite not eating anywhere near the 10,500 excess calories it would take me to gain that weight.
Instead of hating on my body (an easy scapegoat), I had to admit I’d pushed cortisol to its limits and created a small inflammation-storage pattern.
This isn’t uncommon. I see it often with clients.
Just last week, a lovely client and I talked through why she continues to gain weight and feel increasingly exhausted.
She described how busy she was even on weekends juggling work and multiple commitments, to the point where she felt she had to choose between eating or working out.
You’ve likely felt that level of overwhelm before.
I know I have and I’ve said similar things myself.
Telling yourself how busy and overwhelmed you are and creating a scarcity story where you must “choose” between essential health habits sends danger signals to a nervous system already on high alert.
Her solution came out of her own mouth, yet she didn’t want to hear it.
Maybe it will sink in. Maybe it will take a few more rounds. Or maybe she’ll read this email and see herself in it.
Either way, what you say and what you do directly impacts how your brain and nervous system regulate adrenaline and cortisol.
Taking just one day to write down the phrases you say most often can be incredibly eye-opening and often points directly to the solution.
So this week, when you’re out and about, on the phone, or even having conversations in your own head, write down what comes up.
Ask yourself what lifestyle changes you can make to step out of the constant cortisol-pump many of us live in.
Living in fight-or-flight even when your life is objectively “fine,” but your brain keeps creating urgency ages you faster than anything else.
Sadly, there are no hormones, peptides, supplements, or protocols that can save you from living in fight or flight except you.
Stay tuned for tomorrow, where I’ll share what elevated cortisol does to your muscle mass and why creating a protocol to protect it matters more than you think.
I’m also releasing a podcast episode with the Hormone Heroines on Wednesday, where we dive into muscle health, urolithin A, creatine, and the peptides they’re using.
Here’s to dialing in your lifestyle,
Dr. J
