Stress hormone

Stress hormones such as cortisol, GH and norepinephrine are released at periods of high stress. The hormone regulating system is known as the endocrine system. Cortisol is believed to affect the metabolic system and norepinephrine is believed to play a role in ADHD as well as depression and hypertension.

Stress hormones rise in the body during any neuroendocrine reaction such as surgery and they remain high as long as 72 hours, after which all these hormones return to their normal level, the last being cortisol.

Currently there are medications available which block the release of stress hormones.

Stress hormones act by mobilizing energy from storage to muscles, increasing heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate and shutting down metabolic processes such as digestion, reproduction, growth and immunity.

Constant stress causes continual release of various stress hormones which can cause:

• A depletion of energy storage
• High blood pressure
• Stress-induced hypertension
• Effects on metabolic processes
• Ulcers (digestion)
• Hampered growth
• Decrease in testosterone levels in males and irregular menstrual cycles in females.
• Increased likelihood of infectious diseases.

Further reading

• Prenatal Programming of Human Neurological Function, International Journal of Peptides (courtesy of NIH, Curt A. Sandman, Elysia P. Davis, Claudia Buss and Laura M. Glynn, 2011