Let’s face it—daily living can be stressful. Our days are filled with work, friends, social media, appointments, bills, feeding and bathing, and the basics of keeping house. Sometimes it can feel like we have to do it all. Are you packing your days full in order to try and fit it all in? Do you sometimes feel like a superhero without the extra special outfit? Sorry to burst your bubble, but you are mortal.
It’s okay. You can take off your invisible superhero cape (I won’t think any less of you, promise!). The world won’t collapse if you slow down, give yourself a break, and do what you need to do to avoid the train wreck ahead. If you keep going at this speed, that’s exactly where you’re headed.
That train wreck has a name—adrenal fatigue.
Your adrenal glands may seem insignificant, but these little triangular organs have the power to influence your life in big ways.
The adrenal glands are endocrine glands responsible for secreting important hormones directly into the blood stream. They sit on top of the kidney, and are mainly responsible for regulating your body’s stress response by making hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.
Studies have shown that these hormones are only meant to be in the body for short periods of time. When there is an excess of these two hormones for an extended period of time, it can be toxic for the body, and lead to adrenal fatigue as well as other diseases.
In short, adrenal fatigue is no one’s best friend.
Without knowing it, I suffered from adrenal fatigue for many years. I was always pushing myself, piling too much on my plate, and had a very strong “superwoman complex”—I can, therefore have to do everything myself. Remind you of anyone you know?
I had no idea why I got tired so quickly, why I couldn’t handle alcohol or sugar, why my blood-sugar levels were always out of whack, and why the dark circles under my eyes never went away. Only once I stepped back to take a look at my approach to life did it start to make sense that I had gone down a path to an undesirable destination—adrenal fatigue.
I want you to be familiar with some of the “red flags” and warnings, know how to identify the most common symptoms, and have a few ideas of where to begin remedying the problem.
Awareness is the first step.
Here are some warning signs that you could be on the path to adrenal fatigue:
You’re always “on.”
You’re “plugged in” to multiple devices at all times. You’re always reachable by text, phone, Facebook, and email. You are there for your kids, your family, your job, your partner, your neighbor, and your 500+ friends on Facebook, even if it means putting your own needs aside. Taking some much needed “You Time”…HA! Fat chance.
Your schedule is always full.
It’s an unusual day when you aren’t running from home to work to appointments to social gathering and back again. Sure, you may be having the time of your life, but there’s no room in your schedule for spontaneity, for down time, or for much-needed self-care—things like joyous movement, time for being creative, or investing in yourself with a course or workshop.
You have a “just push through it” attitude.
There’s a healthy way to push through obstacles and challenges but if that is the constant reality of your life, it may be time to reevaluate. It’s true, sometimes you need to just get through it—like when you’re courageously forging a new career path, pursuing your dreams, starting a new business, or going to graduate school. But if your life just seems to be filled with things that need to be pushed through with sheer willpower, maybe you are actually going against the flow and making everything harder than it needs to be.
You view sleep as a luxury.
Sleep isn’t something you reward yourself with for doing everything on your to-do list. It’s something sacred, something necessary, and something essential for a sustainable and fulfilling life. When you sleep, your systems detoxify, your cells repair themselves, your immune system rejuvenates, and your organs get a chance to come back into balance. This isn’t a luxury, but a bare minimum for maintaining overall health.
You depend on stimulants to get you through the day.
Coffee or black tea in the morning to get you going, energy drink to get you through lunch, soda to ward off the 3:00pm slump, and dessert to help you let go of the day. These stimulants are just a stand-in for the natural energy you don’t have. Imagine what your life could be like if you had an abundance of energy and didn’t need to weaken your adrenals in order to show up for your day.
When the adrenals are tired, over-worked, or exhausted, it may show up in the body in a number of different ways.
Common symptoms of exhausted adrenal glands:
Dark circles under the eyes
Lack of libido
Low stamina for stress
Easily irritated
Lower back pain, especially on the sides of the body
Dry, unhealthy skin
A craving for salt
Low blood sugar
Cravings for sweets and carbs, intolerance to alcohol
Excessive mood responses after eating carbs (e.g. pasta, breads and sugar)
Tired but wired feeling
Poor sleep
Dizziness
Muscle twitches
Heart palpitations
Sensitivity to light, or difficulty seeing at night
Excessive sweating or perspiration from little activity
Chronic infections (bacterial, viral, fungal, yeast)
Low blood pressure
Light-headedness on standing up
Premature aging
Cystic breasts
Tendency to startle easily
Negative response to thyroid hormone
If you think you might be experiencing adrenal fatigue, or possibly on the brink of it, it’s best that you address the problem pronto. Your adrenals need you, and you need them.
5 Things You Can Do To Help
1. Sleep
Your body repairs itself and gets ready for the busy day ahead while you are in dreamland. Cut that time short and you stop your body from fully recharging. Getting enough sleep means going to bed before 11:00pm (10:00pm is ideal, if you can do it). If you make this a priority and stick with it, your adrenals will get their beauty rest.
2. Ditch the sugar and processed foods.
Foods loaded with sugar and simple carbohydrates put stress on your adrenals. Your adrenal glands are responsible for regulating your blood sugar, and when you ingest a massive does of sugary junk, you adrenals have to work hard to deal with the influx.
3. Eat healthy
Include a diversity of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and whole grains. Choosing organic and local whenever possible is ideal, as it reduces the toxins in the food you eat and the impact on the environment. There are many ways to eat healthy when you’re busy. It isn’t as hard as you’d think.
4. Quit coffee
Caffeine of any kind causes your adrenal glands to produce adrenaline, a jolt that kicks your butt into gear in the morning and keeps you going in the afternoon when you’re falling asleep at your desk. If you require your adrenals to give you this “hit” multiple times a day, every day, they’re going to get tired. If you want to reduce or get off coffee for good, there are superfoods and teas that can help.
5. Drink water
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of fresh, filtered water every day. The amount will vary depending on your body weight and activity level—the more active you are, the more sweat and toxins you release, and the more water you need. Hydration is key to healthy and happy adrenals.
If you’re not there yet but see some warning signs, trust me, you’ll thank yourself for taking some preventative measures. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at alani@radianthealthlink.com if you need some support. That’s what I’m here for. In making necessary shifts in your diet and lifestyle, not only will you be nourishing your adrenals and supporting them in coming back into balance, but you’ll be living a healthier life as well.
Win-win.
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