Are you in overdrive?
5 Simple tips to calm your system

 I’m a firm believer in empowerment through knowledge. So let’s chat about one of the most overlooked parts of the body that impacts our health in so so many ways. And some quick tips to give these a boost!

Have you heard of your adrenal glands? It’s not really a sexy name, granted, but these little glands sit atop each kidney and govern your stress response. That means they shoot adrenaline and cortisol into your body when you need to outrun a tiger, give a presentation, feel your to-do list is too full, or stay up watching your favorite show. 

But that’s not all they do. They are intimately involved in the regulation of your blood sugar, blood pressure, immune system and metabolism, just to name a few! Given that they touch so many vital body processes, we should stop, pay attention, and give them some LOVE!

In our busy, ‘always on’ society, our adrenal glands get quite the workout. In fact, many of us have adrenal glands in overdrive. And some of us have burned out adrenals that are barely able to eek out normal levels of hormones.

There are many great questionnaires online to guestimate the state of your adrenals based on some simple questions so I won’t try to do that here. Basically, if you have trouble ‘turning off,’ your adrenals may be overfiring. If you have trouble ‘turning on,’ your adrenals may be burned out. And if you’re a mixed bag, that happens too – these glands can be too high at one part of the day and too low at another.

Here’s why you should care. If your adrenals aren’t in balance, you don’t have the resilience you should. That means your body is not able to cope with stress, and instead creates more stress just getting through every day life. More inflammation, more immune suppression, less ability to regulate the body’s normal processes like blood pressure, blood sugar and energy levels.

If you find yourself losing your temper, falling into anxiety attacks, unable to fall asleep or quiet your mind, or having erratic food cravings (especially foods to give you a boost, like sugar), you should pay attention to these early warning signs of imbalance.

As someone who had completely burned out adrenals with Chronic Fatigue syndrome, and could barely get off the couch – I had my husband regularly do the grocery shopping because it was too much for me to handle – trust me, it pays to notice a problem and take action before it stops you.

So here are some quick tips to give your adrenals a boost:

1. Get to bed before 11pm.
2. Avoid long stretches without eating.
3. Avoid high quantities of starches and sugars in your diet.
4. Practice a mindfulness activity for 15 minutes per day where your mind is quiet (meditation, prayer, gardening, needlework, etc.).
5. Actively work to decrease worry and anxiety in the way that’s perfect for you

These simple steps, if followed for a few weeks, can point if you’re onto something or if you need to look elsewhere.

Adrenal insufficiency is thought to affect everything from cancer to depression to chronic pain. If you start nurturing your stress levels and see improvements, fabulous! Your whole body will thank you.

An added benefit of quieter adrenals is a better ability to hear your body’s wisdom. And we all can benefit by knowing what our body needs and wants to be vitally healthy.

Winter is time for the adrenals to be replenished. Use this time wisely to give your entire body a boost!