Stress, The Body's Response&The Adrenal Glands - a podcast by Discussions with successful health experts such as Ben Greenfield, Terry Wa

Stress, the body's response and the adrenal glands- Dr. Jason Jones Elizabeth City NC, Chiropractor

Stress is one of the big problems facing our society today.  Oftentimes, most of us feel a level of stress or try to relieve it, or both.

What is Stress?

In simple words, stress is a physical and mental reaction to a potential threat. When you are faced with a potential danger, your body triggers the fight-or-flight response, and this helps to prepare you to deal with the danger.

For example, when attacked by a ferocious animal that’s trying to devour you, your body produces stress hormones that helps you deal with the danger.

This stress hormone is what triggers the fight or flight response. You breath faster, your heart races and your muscles are ready to take action. This stress response is designed to prepare your body to react quickly to an emergency. It is often beneficial for immediate, short-term situations.

But note that when your stress response keeps firing every day, it can take a toll on your health. Some symptoms of chronic stress include:

• anxiety
• depression
• headaches
• irritability
• insomnia

The adrenal glands and stress

You can’t talk about stress without mentioning the adrenal glands. Some people refer to these glands as “the party hats of the kidneys,” and that’s because these pointy shape glands sit atop each kidney.

Each adrenal gland has two parts: the internal medulla and the outer cortex. The medulla is made up of nervous tissues, while the cortex is composed of glandular epithelial tissue.

Different parts of the cortex produce different hormones, including cortisol, which is released during the late phase of stress response.

The medulla also produce hormones, including the epinephrine/adrenaline, which interacts with the nervous system in the initial phase of the fight-or-flight response.

So how does the adrenal gland support acute stress response? When you perceive a threat or danger, a part of the limbic system called amygdala sounds the first alarm which is perceived by the hypothalamus.

Then the sympathetic nervous system becomes activated, which signals the adrenal gland to secrete epinephrine into the bloodstream. This helps the body to respond to danger in different ways.

At this point, your lungs expand and the rate of respiration increases, allowing for more oxygen intake. Your heart beats faster, and this often leads to increase in blood pressure. All of these reactions is so your brain and muscles get all the needed blood to function optimally.

Some other physiological changes that takes place during the fight-or-flight response are increased tension in the muscles and dilation of the pupils. Your reproductive and digestive functions are suppressed at this stage.

If the threat or stressful situation persist after the first rush of epinephrine, a system known as the HPA Axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands) kicks in to help prepare the body for action.

The hypothalamus acts by releasing a hormone called CHR (corticotropin-releasing hormone), which signals the pituitary gland to release another hormone called ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone).

This ACTH travels through the blood stream and signal the adrenal glands to release cortisol, known as the “stress hormone.” When cortisol is released, it helps to give the body the needed energy to stay at alert and it signals several organs in the body to make changes.

So how do you recover after the flight-or-flight response? Usually after the threat has passed, your body starts to calm down. Recovery from an acute stress response usually takes about 20 – 30 minutes. At this point, the cortisol level drops and the nervous system dials down its activity.

But if the body is not able to recover, it will eventually lead to depression, fatigue, and anxiety, which are chronic forms of stress.

You can consult Dr. Jason Jones at our chiropractic office in Elizabeth City, NC to learn more about stressful conditions and the role of the adrenal glands.

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