10 Tips to Heal Adrenal Fatigue
There is plenty of debate about adrenal fatigue and if it’s even real. It gets a bad rap for being overly used in the wellness community, however, if you take a look at adrenal fatigue or rather HPA Axis dysregulation, you will see why it has become such a hot topic.
In today’s post we’ll be discussing
What is adrenal fatigue, AKA HPA-axis dysregulation
Symptoms of adrenal fatigue
How it impacts your hormones
10 Steps to take to heal adrenal fatigue
I realized I may be suffering from adrenal fatigue after going off the pill and I started to experience symptoms of a cortisol imbalance (i.e. fatigue (even after a good nights sleep), salt/sugar cravings, energy crashes in the afternoon, weight gain around the middle, waking up in the middle of the night, etc.). Unfortunately, it’s more common than you would think, as our adrenals are heavily impacted by screen time, the amount and quality of sleep, chronic stress, and lack of natural sun exposure.
Adrenal Fatigue: Fact or Fiction?
Our adrenals are two small endocrine glands that sit on top of our kidneys. Their purpose is to produce hormones that help control inflammation, stress, blood pressure, and blood sugar. They are part of the HPA-axis, otherwise known as the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis, which is how our body deals with stress. It is part of our “reptilian brain”, as its purpose used to be to help us escape an attack from a wild animal or whatever stressors hunter-gatherers faced back in the day. Unfortunately, our brains can’t tell the difference between an imminent threat like a bear or a less life-threatening stressor such as giving a presentation at work, so it triggers the same pathway (your fight or flight response).
When this response takes place, cortisol is sent out in the bloodstream via the adrenals and this can happen with any type of stressor: eating while on the run, city lights at night, traffic, and even your door bell ringing can cause a spike in cortisol. While “adrenal fatigue” is a little misleading, because it’s not as though our adrenals are giving out from exhaustion, this syndrome is better described as HPA axis dysregulation (I will however use the terms interchangeably, because the latter is a mouth full).
Chronic stress changes the way our brain and adrenals communicate. With a fully functioning stress response, after a stressor is resolved cortisol levels return to normal. However, because of these constant exposures to stress, we have almost constant inflammation and therefore our adrenals are put to work releasing cortisol (remember it wants to lower inflammation). Eventually, the communication between the brain and the adrenals becomes fuzzy because the brain demands too much of our poor little adrenal glands.
Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue
To give you a better idea of what symptoms make look like with adrenal fatigue, here is a list of some of the most common:
Night Owl, or getting a second wind around 11pm
Having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
Waking up in the middle of the night with difficulty falling back asleep
Feeling fatigued in the morning, even after a good nights rest
Feeling more stressed and having a hard time calming down
Chronic low- or middle-back pain
Craving salty/sweet foods
Perspiring easily
Chronic fatigue or getting drowsy often
Crashing in the afternoon
Afternoon headache
Anxiety
Seasonal or chronic allergies
Needing to wear sunglasses (feeling like you can barely keep your eyes open when you step outside)
Dizziness when you stand up
Difficulty losing weight
Gaining weight around the waistline
Getting upset or angry easily
Low Blood Sugar
Low Blood Pressure
Can I get Tested for Adrenal Fatigue?
You can! It’s best to do a saliva cortisol panel, as it will give you a better idea of where your cortisol levels are at throughout the day instead of just a snapshot in time. Talk to your doctor or there are options available online for at home testing, if your doctor is unable or unwilling to order tests for you.
How It Impacts Your Hormones
Firstly, answer this question for me: What causes inflammation and therefore contributes to HPA-axis dysregulation….birth control! Estrogen in the pill is, in nature, inflammatory and so the brain tells the adrenals to send cortisol to counteract the inflammation on a daily basis, but this can be too much for them to handle. Overtime, the brain and adrenals stop communicating effectively.
Generally, when our body is in a state of stress (i.e. producing cortisol) it prioritizes cortisol over other hormones. This means estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormone, etc. will be put on the back burner because cortisol is high. Also when the adrenals are not working properly, your pituitary gland tells your thyroid to stop producing thyroid hormones which impacts your metabolism, digestion, energy levels and more. Chronic high cortisol not only weakens the endocrine system, but also your immune system, digestive system, metabolism, and brain.
Now for the fun part, lets discuss how you can begin healing your adrenals!
10 Steps to Heal Your Adrenal Fatigue
I want to preface this section by saying this issue will not be resolved over night. You’ve had YEARS of overworking your adrenals, so it will take a little bit to get the brain and adrenals back together again. Sometimes it can take up to a year to fully heal, so be patient with your body and yourself.
Do Not Skip Out on Carbohydrate
Especially after coming off the pill, we need carbohydrates, as discussed in this post on insulin sensitivity. Coupled with fat and protein at every meal and snack, they help balance our blood sugar, which is key for helping our adrenals. While a lower carb diet can work to reduce inflammation, not consuming carbs for too long can put additional stress on your adrenals. Some good options include potatoes, vegetables, beans/legumes (after soaking them) and fruit!
Eat Breakfast Within an Hour of Waking Up
Again, it comes back to blood sugar. If you wait too long, your blood sugar will begin to fall and your adrenals will send out cortisol to help compensate. If you find you aren’t hungry in the morning, this could be an indication that you have blood sugar imbalance. Try to have a snack before bed and breakfast first thing in the morning.
Opt for Low Impact Exercises
HIIT workouts, running, or strenuous weight lifting raises your cortisol (think: anything that puts stress on your body). While you're trying to heal your adrenals stick to activities like walking, yoga, or light weight lifting. I know it might seem strange to hear someone tell you to “take it easy”, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. However, high cortisol can cause fat buildup around your middle, so by regulating cortisol levels some people see some weight loss.
Relieve Stress
Deep breathing exercises, meditation, walking with a friend, taking a bath, massages, etc. Any way that you can relieve stress in your life is a great way to lower cortisol levels. Something I’ve found that works for me is CBD in the morning or Ashwaganda. Just be cautious with ashwaganda if you suspect you have high testosterone, as it can cause levels to raise. Not sure? Take my free assessment here.
Get Outside in the Sun, Especially First Thing in the Morning
Not only does this help to regulate your circadian rhythm, but it is also great for reducing inflammation and stress. Sunlight is healing! By getting outside for 20 minutes in the sunshine everyday, you will start to feel a difference a whole lot faster.
Cut Down on Caffeine
Hear me out, before running away. I know coffee might be your only life line and how you get through your days, but that my dear is a symptom that there’s an issue. Life shouldn’t consist of you hooked up to an IV of caffeine. It is possible to have energy throughout the day! The issue is not only blood sugar, but also caffeine is a diuretic and can cause electrolyte imbalances which isn’t what we want when healing our adrenals.
My biggest issue with giving up coffee was I just enjoyed the ritual of making matcha/coffee, so I have a few options for you!
Switch to decaf, or to something like matcha and then eventually to decaf, OR try out bulletproof coffee in the morning.
BulletProof Coffee:
8oz cup of Organic coffee
1 scoop Further Foods Collagen
1/2 Tbsp MCT Oil
1/2 Tbsp Grass Fed Butter
Optional: heavy cream, cinnamon, and maple syrup
Try this Adrenal Cocktail
If you have not been to my instagram page, follow along here, but you can find me most morning sipping on this adrenal cocktail. Not only does it pack in vitamin c, it also gives your adrenals sodium/potassium (all of which your endocrine system needs), and healthy fats/protein to stabilize blood sugar!
Combine the following in a glass:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt, this is the only kind of salt I use anymore
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 tbsp full fat coconut milk/cream
1 scoop collagen powder, I use Further Food
Mix everything until combined and add ice!
Balanced Meals & Snacks
Back to blood sugar control! We want an even amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat with each meal and snack. And to take it one step further, try eating your protein before carbohydrate-heavy foods to slow the absorption of glucose.
Examples of snacks include:
berries with coconut cream with a sprinkle of chia seeds + a side of cheese,
beef jerky + veggie sticks
Hard boiled egg mashed with avocado + crackers
Cantaloupe + prosciutto
Bedtime Ritual
Turn off those phones and find a new ritual for bedtime! We are trying to regulate your circadian rhythm by getting sunlight first thing in the morning and making sure we aren’t exposed to excessive blue light in the evening.
My night routine goes a little something like this:
8:30pm: Turn phone on airplane mode and tv goes off
Skin care, get into comfy pajamas (although usually this happens much earlier), teeth brushed, and dry brushing (for lymphatic drainage)
Light candle or turn on red light. Set the mood, even if it’s just for yourself!
Run a diffuser with lavender essential oil
Read a book or journal
Lights out by 10pm
Pinch of Sea Salt in Your Water or Juice in the Morning
Your adrenals need electrolytes, specifically sodium. Sodium has been made out to be the bad guy in terms of blood pressure, but we want a good quality salt, like Celtic Sea Salt that is less processed and offers more minerals along with sodium.
Typically you can expect adrenal fatigue to take anywhere from 6 months to a year to fully heal, however you will likely start to notice a difference in energy and relief of symptoms in a shorter time frame.
It is possible to heal from Adrenal Fatigue or more accurately HPA-Axis dysregulation, but we have to be willing to cut back on some of our addictions that caused it in the first place (i.e screen time, caffeine, etc.). Let me know if you have any questions below and be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletters, where I share all of my wellness favorites each week! Thanks for stopping by for a little balanced buzz.
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