Cortisol - the lovely hormone that can cause all sorts of issues

Cortisol is a hormone released in the body in times of stress aka "fight or flight" response. Cortisol triggers the body to prepare for increased needs of energy therefore it mobilizes the body's stores of sugars and fat in order to be used for energy for survival. This means our blood sugar will increase due to the release of stored sugars. THIS IS A GOOD THING!! We need this response in times of trauma, infection, wound healing, sickness, moderate exercise (intense exercise is when there is less cortisol, more adrenaline being released), etc. However, when our cortisol levels are high for too long or elevated indefinitely, this can inhibit our body's ability to burn fat/stay lean/energy levels/etc.

Lack of sleep and stress are two major factors that can elevate our cortisol levels chronically. This just emphasizes how important sleep and stress management are in achieving our fitness goals. We could spend hours at the gym each week and meal prepping, measuring our foods to an exact amount, but if we aren't taking care of our body's basic functionality, we won't see the results we desire. When the body's cortisol levels are high, the body's fat burning process slows or shuts down in a response to preserve energy should the "threat" get bigger and the body needs to utilize these stores.

Other negative things can happen in the body when we are sleep deprived also. You're "hungrier" when you are sleep deprived. This is because the two hormones responsible for your hunger, leptin and ghrelin, are triggered with sleep patterns. Leptin is responsible for telling the brain that you are full and to stop eating, while ghrelin increases appetite and also reduces the amount of calories you burn (aka metabolism) and storing food as fat. When you lack sleep, leptin levels fall and ghrelin levels rise, making you feel more ravenous.

Further more, lack of sleep and increased hunger pushes you to crave more sugar and other foods you don't normally eat. it's like being drunk - when you're tired, you subconsciously make decisions you wouldn't normally make. You tend to crave quick sugar to "wake yourself up" which results in a sugar crash and the dreaded sugar addiction cycle continues.

Also, when you try to workout and hit the gym when you haven't had a proper night's sleep. As mentioned above, cortisol levels are higher when we don't get enough sleep. The higher cortisol levels slows down the growth hormones, making it hard for the body to build, maintain, and recover muscle. Cortisol being chronically elevated also reduces our bodies ability to respond properly to exercise.

So what do we do with this information??? It's actually quite simple. Get good sleep, find stress management techniques, let your body recover, don't over do it in the gym (especially if you are running low on sleep), and take time for yourself each day to slow down and relax a bit.