Cortisol — The Stress Hormone

Stress affects health in many ways, unfortunately none of them affects well-being in a good way. Many health specialists claim, as normal human experience would confirm, that stress and depression can have negative effects on physical health. In the long run, persons under high stress can develop eating disorders and sleep disturbances. These conditions could also possibly lead to decreased physical energy, chronic pain, and sexual dysfunction.

Physical illnesses are almost always present whenever a person is under extremely stressful conditions. Even the body’s internal processes respond to external difficulties experienced by a person. During stressful situations, the adrenal glands inside the body release a substance called cortisol. Cortisol is a natural steroid hormone that science experts refer to as the stress hormone. It is known as thestress hormone because large amounts of this substance are released whenever a person feels stressed out. It is an important hormone in the human body because it is involved in proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, and control of immune system functions, and inflammatory response.

In general,...