Do you have an awful hard time getting up; feel constantly tired and then can’t go to sleep at night? Do you find it hard to concentrate? Do you suffer from mood swings, depression or anxiety and crave sweets or salty snacks?
Your adrenal glands might be under the weather. These little glands sitting on top of our kidneys are essential to keep us alert and help us deal with stress. They release the ‘stress’ hormones, adrenalin, cortisol and DHEA.
These hormones are secreted in a cycle called the circadian rhythm – high cortisol in the morning which reduces through the day to give way to our sleeping hormone, Melatonin.
In periods of long-term or profound mental or physical stress the adrenal glands can go into overdrive but eventually they will become exhausted. The result is that hormonal levels of Cortisol & DHEA in the blood stream become imbalanced. You can find yourself in a vicious cycle: stress makes your body use more nutrients, at the same time it slows down or inhibits digestion / nutrient absorption, it compromises immunity so you are less able to adapt and cope with stress.
Treatment Options
So what do most people do when they’re tired? They reach for stimulants like coffee and sweets, even herbal boosters – all of which can push the adrenals for a while, but one can end up with an adrenal exhaustion out of which there is no amount of caffeine that can drag one.
Gentle stretching exercisese, relaxation techniques are helpful.When you hit the exhaustion stage the only solution is actually to rest as much as possible and assist your adrenal glands to get back in shape. Gentle stretching exercises, relaxation techniques are helpful.
If digestive problems hindering nutrient absorption, or long standing low grade infection, maybe food allergies are behind the exhaustion, these need to be addressed first. As fatigue can be caused by other underlining conditions, a thorough investigation is essential.
A naturopathic treatment always starts with a thorough investigation to find the root of the problem, whatever the health concern may be. We are all very individual: as there are no two snowflakes alike, neither are any two human bodies. Once we found the cause, with a tailor made menu plan and herbal supplement regime your body can be gently ushered back to health – without side effects.
