Hormones play a big part in our everyday lives—they give us energy to get out of bed, repair and create new muscle after a tough workout, and rise to the occasion during sex. As we get older, most hormones become erratic or go downhill; but thankfully, recent research has given us an understanding of how we can naturally slow down hormonal decline—and essentially game our hormones.
Here’s how:
The Stress Hormone – Cortisol
What it is:
Every morning when we wake up, adrenal glands release a shot of cortisol, which signals the liver to produce glucose for the day. Cortisol levels stay high for most of us throughout the morning, then fall beginning in early afternoon, until we are back in bed at night. Whenever a challenge arises, like meeting a deadline at work, the brain signals the adrenals to make more cortisol. Because we associate cortisol with stress, we often assume all stress—and therefore all cortisol—is bad. But as long as we are feeling the effects of “challenge stress,” which is short-term, and not “chronic stress,” which is continual and constant, an occasional burst of cortisol is good; we want all the energy we can get during challenging times!
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How to game it:
If you’re a natural early bird, schedule energy-demanding tasks in the morning, ensuring plenty of glucose to fuel the brain and muscles. If you’re a night owl, flip it.
Also, change how your view stressful situations. A 2011 study found that followed nearly 30,000 people for eight years, found that those who said they thought stress wasn’t a harmful thing were—despite living high-stress lives—less likely to have died from any cause than those who led low-stress lives.
The Muscle-Fueling Hormone – Insulin
How it works:
After cortisol helps glucose enter the bloodstream the pancreas releases insulin to escort the glucose to cells for energy. But if you eat refined carbs, like bagels, sandwiches and pastas that break down quickly in the gut, the flood of sugar will force the pancreas to pump out large amounts of insulin to clear it.
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Excess cortisol wreaks even more havoc on your insulin levels. It tricks the body into thinking it needs to ready itself for physical action, dumping extra glucose into the bloodstream. But because there’s no physical release (you’re just overstressed), the muscles don’t burn the sugar and the insulin stores that sugar as fat.
How to game it:
Aggressively cut back on refined carbs, which may even include whole grains if your blood sugar is high. Up fiber-rich vegetables and legumes. And exercise. When muscle is healthy, you lower your risk of diabetes and other metabolic conditions.
The Vitality Hormones – Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone
How they work:
During sleep, the body produces testosterone (T) via the testes, and human growth hormone (HGH) from the pituitary gland. T boosts sex drive, helps keep moods chipper and protects the immune system, heart, and brain. Both T and HGH maintain and build muscle. The lower the levels of cortisol and insulin, the better T and HGH work. But in our late thirties, T and HGH begin to decline by about 1% a year, and cortisol and insulin spike higher and stay up longer.
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How to game it:
The best remedy is exercise; particularly, high-intensity intervals and strength training. The idea being, if you break down the body, it has to make HGH to build it back up.
Curated article and photo credit from:
Men’s Journal
