A
Low Cortisol Level
Makes You Do Dumb Things
Could a Low Cortisol Level be making you do dumb things? Cortisol is a hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands, and is responsible for functions such as creating other hormones and regulating energy levels. Most people have heard of Adrenal Gland Fatigue, and this is caused when cortisol levels are either too high or too low, but mostly when Cortisol Levels are low.
The
body likes to keep cortisol levels within the normal range, though, and when
low cortisol levels occur, the body will often do whatever it can to raise
cortisol levels within the normal range, as long as the adrenal exhaustion is
not to such an extent that the adrenals are ‘burnt out’ and can no longer
produce cortisol normally.
Actions such as overeating, staying up too late when
you know you need to get to bed earlier, drinking too much coffee, or other
compulsive or addictive behavior that you just KNOW that you should not do, but
can’t seem to control, are ways that your body can actually raise cortisol
levels. This is because the body sees these behaviors as stressful, and you produce cortisol.
Ironically, because your cortisol levels get to within normal range, you actually feel better, and thus it becomes a type of conditioned reward system, even though that system is acting in a way that harms you. So when you find yourself engaging in these apparently destructive and
self-defeating behaviors, it might actually be your inherent body wisdom simply
trying to raise cortisol levels!
How to Recognize
Low Cortisol Levels
Cortisol levels fluctuate throughout the day and gradually decreasing until the late evening. This ‘diurnal rhythm’ has your AM Cortisol as the highest, with the lowest cortisol levels at night.
If you wake up
not feeling refreshed, have energy ‘crashes’ in the middle of the day, lose
energy towards the evening, stay up too late, don't get enough sleep, or find yourself engaging in
destructive behaviors, particularly at
certain times of the day, these might be low cortisol symptoms and Adrenal Gland Fatigue. Fortunately,
you can find out for sure, and you can also do something about it as well.
Cortisol Test
Fortunately for you, there is a Salivary Cortisol Test for high, normal, and low cortisol levels that is easy and accurate. It’s a simple in-home test that uses saliva taken 4 times in one day to test your adrenal cortisol levels throughout the day. This test also checks for the ‘anti aging’ hormone DHEA, as well as various other optional hormone levels such as testosterone, melatonin, estrogen, and progesterone.
This salivary adrenal test is painless, easy to use, inexpensive , requires no prescription, and is done in your own home at your convenience. The test has been used for over 30 years and is recognized by western medicine as being useful and accurate, despite the fact that almost no medical doctors use it.
In fact, the strange thing is that most doctors
will not even recognize adrenal fatigue or low cortisol symptoms at all. They
recognize only healthy normally functioning adrenal glands, and the complete absence
of the ability to produce adrenal hormones, but they do not recognize nor will they
test your cortisol levels. Your
doctor can do a test called a ‘cortisol stimulation test’, but this is a long
and complex test that is only done in extreme circumstances where a complete cortisol
deficiency is suspected. Few people have such low cortisol levels that they
would qualify to even have this test done. Therefore, if you suspect you might
have adrenal fatigue or low cortisol levels, you are relegated to testing
yourself and paying out of pocket if you want to find out for sure.
Fortunately, as mentioned, getting tested for adrenal fatigue and low cortisol
levels is easy, inexpensive, and painless. You can order an In Home Adrenal
Test here and receive it in the mail in just a few days. It’s a sad state of
affairs in medicine when your doctor will not test you for a common and
treatable problem with an easy, painless and readily available test. Fortunately,
however, you have the ability to take charge of your own health and get
yourself tested without requiring the permission or help of a doctor.
