Our last post talked about how and why we need to get enough sleep to help us recharge our batteries. Part two in our two part series will provide more useful information about why sleep may not be enough and how you can super-charge your life by supporting your adrenal glands.
The Adrenal Glands
The adrenal glands are small, walnut sized glands that sit atop your kidneys. They play a role in numerous body functions, including blood sugar regulation, immune function and your physical, psychological and emotional reaction to stress. It is the latter function that usually gets the most press. The adrenals are involved in the manufacture and distribution of a number of chemical messengers, including cortisol, adrenaline/epinephrine and DHEA, which help us adapt and react to stress. As such, they play a direct role in our ‘fight-or-flight’ response, where our body is prepared to react to stress by taking a stand or running away. This serves a valuable purpose if our stressors are few and far between and we can take adequate action and then relax. However, in our busy, constantly-on-the-go lives, stress often takes it toll.
When Fight-or-Flight Fizzles
After prolonged stress, our adrenals become taxed and may no longer be able to respond adequately to stresses. We may experience this as a profound drop in energy level, motivation and/or sleep disturbances. Some people may sleep a lot, others may not be able to sleep, but what is universal is that no matter if you sleep too much or too little, you still don’t feel rested in the morning. This can lead to constant fatigue, anxiety and burn-out. In cases such as these, the adrenals are in need of some serious support.
Providing Adrenal Support
The first thing you have to do is incorporate more relaxation and down-time into your daily life. This doesn’t have to be large chunks of time (in most cases); it can be 5-minutes here or there where you take a break and allow your body and mind to recharge. Periodically take deep breaths (post-it notes with the word “BREATHE” on them work great as reminders), do a couples stretches and shake out any tension several times throughout your day.
Several supplements can also be used to help the adrenals perform their job more adequately:
- Adreset – for those that are stressed and tired, with symptoms ranging from fatigue, depression, impaired memory, central (mid-rift) body fat/obesity and reduced sex drive.
- Serenagen – for those that are stressed and wired, with symptoms of anxiety, irritability, nervousness, ‘feeling out of control’, hot flashes and food cravings
- Licorice Plus – for those that are stressed and hot, that feel sore, achy, and tired; other symptoms may include joint pain and tenderness; inflammation, or chronic NSAIDs or prednisone use.
These products can be used separately or in combination; contact us for more details on these and other products.
The adrenals have an important job to do and in our hectic, stress-filled lives, they need all the support they can get! Give yourself breaks throughout the day, get enough rest (see our last post if you need help in the ZZZs department) and use supplemental support as needed to recharge your batteries along your natural path to optimal health.