By Sarah Hanratty – Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Being a busy parent often means you are pulled in many different directions and time is in short supply. This time of year, also adds extra tasks to our never-ending to do list. Our bodies are built to adapt to stressful and busy times. There’s usually no problem stepping up a gear when we need to. This adaptation is a temporary response to help us through more stressful times. Our adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol; it’s a built in response to give us the resources to either ‘fight or flight’.
This adaptation can become our new normal when our daily lives are always busy and stressful. We often don’t notice that we are triggering this ‘stress’ response in our bodies on a daily basis. Over time our energy begins to flag, our mood and health are affected and we find we can’t keep up the pace anymore.
It’s not just daily stress or general busy-ness that cause our bodies to react. Poor sleep, childbirth, nutrient deficiencies, food intolerances, illness, injury and even heavy exercise can turn on the stress response.
What are the signs that our bodies are ‘stressed’?
- Struggling to get going in the morning without a cup of coffee/tea: Cortisol is a hormone that helps regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Cortisol should be raised in the morning and then begin to lower during the afternoon. If this pattern is disrupted, then we might find it hard to wake up in the morning without a shot of caffeine. It’s most likely that you generally feel tired and even a good night’s sleep doesn’t help.
- Being a night owl: If you experience a ‘second wave’ of energy in the evening, around the time that you should be winding down then this is a key sign of disrupted cortisol release. Some people find that they do their best work at night and this is a classic sign of an over-stressed body. It occurs because of a late surge of cortisol release (the surge you should have had in the morning) and it can make it difficult to get to sleep.
- Weight gain: If you have a tendency to gain weight around the abdomen this is a sign of a body under stress. When your adrenal glands are called into action, one of the things that happens is stored glucose gets dumped into your bloodstream to give you extra ‘energy’. Over time this can lead to the body storing more ‘energy’ as fat and usually it is stored around the mid-section of the body.
- Developing new allergies, skin rashes or hives: Some people go on to develop allergies or reactions to foods/cleaning or personal care products that they didn’t have before. This tends to happen later on; when cortisol levels begin to drop substantially. The immune system becomes hypervigilant and begins to react to previously inert substances. The anti-inflammatory response of the body that keeps extreme reactions in check is lowered.
Simple strategies that we can use to support our bodies through busy times:
Increase protein, healthy fats, leafy greens and berries: Meals made up of poultry, fish, olive oil, coconut oil and plenty of leafy green vegetables provide sustenance for the body in stressful times. Your body needs more nutrient dense food than usual because it is burning through more vitamins and minerals at this point. Berries and peppers are a good source of vitamin C which is a tonic for your body’s adrenal glands. Your instinct will be to reach for sugary foods or starchy carbs as these are typical cravings when under stress. Increasing protein in the diet can help counteract these cravings.
Choose foods with B vitamins: Eggs, lentils and whole grains are good food choices to raise your B vitamin intake. B vitamins support the healthy function of the nervous system as well as helping energy production. There are some useful herbs which support this process too; maca and ashwagandha are adaptogens that can help provide balance in busy times. Maca can help with sustained energy and a smoothie containing this could be a good way to start the day.
Engage in gentle, restorative exercise: for example, yoga or walking in nature. Heavy exercise such as running may help you to feel energised temporarily but this will raise adrenalin and cortisol levels leading you to feel more burnt out over the longer term. Heavier exercise also encourages muscle breakdown and raises oxidative stress which the body has to work hard to counteract.
Get a good night’s sleep: This can be difficult for new parents or those with toddlers that don’t sleep well. However, it is crucial to supporting good adrenal health. Just one disrupted night’s sleep can raise inflammation and blood pressure. Consider taking turns with your partner or asking for support if poor sleep is an issue for you. If you find yourself waking during the night for no reason, then try increasing protein and lowering sugar intake to prevent the blood sugar dips that can cause this to happen. Getting a couple of hours sleep before midnight can be really supportive for health so going to bed early is a good idea if you are often disturbed at night. Often staying up later can lead to a ‘second wave’ making getting to sleep more difficult. If getting off to sleep is problematic, try adding plenty magnesium or epsom salts to a warm bath before bed or use topical magnesium oils.