Cortisol and Menopause: 6 Surprising Ways to Chill Out

adrenals menopause Oct 22, 2024

Cortisol, known as the "stress hormone," plays a significant role in how the body manages stress. During menopause, the changes in hormone levels can make it harder to control stress, leading to an increase in cortisol production and its effects on the body.

When you’re going through menopause, you may experience heightened stress, fatigue, and mood swings, and cortisol is often at the center of these issues. Understanding the link between cortisol and menopause is key to managing both physical and emotional symptoms during this phase of life.

In this article, you will learn:

How cortisol interacts with other hormones during menopause and impacts stress levels
The effects of elevated cortisol on the body during menopause, from weight gain to sleep problems
Lifestyle interventions like sauna therapy, weight lifting, and vagus nerve stimulation to reduce cortisol
Supplements to support your body and manage cortisol

Let’s dive in to explore how cortisol and menopause are connected.

Understanding Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands, and it plays a vital role in regulating various bodily functions, including metabolism, immune response, and the body’s stress response. Cortisol is released in higher amounts during times of physical or emotional stress. It’s part of the body’s fight or flight response to immediate danger.

Ideally, cortisol levels follow a daily rhythm, peaking in the morning to help you wake up and gradually declining throughout the day. However, chronic stress or disruptions, such as the hormonal changes that occur during menopause, can cause cortisol levels to remain elevated. Pretty much all the time.

This can lead to a range of issues, from sleep disturbances to immune suppression.

Ultimately, we don’t want to demonize cortisol. In moderation, cortisol is essential for maintaining balance in the body. It’s those consistently high levels of cortisol that can disrupt the body’s natural processes — which could lead to inflammation, anxiety, weight gain, trouble sleeping, and other stress-related conditions.

During menopause, hormone imbalances can amplify the impact of cortisol in the body.

Cortisol And Menopause

During menopause, the decline in estrogen and progesterone levels can impact cortisol levels.

Because estrogen and progesterone play a role in the body’s response to stress, when these hormone levels drop during menopause, the body’s ability to manage stress can be reduced. (1-3)

As a result, cortisol production may increase, leaving you more vulnerable to the effects of stress.

One of the primary ways this hormonal shift manifests? Mood swings, anxiety, and disrupted sleep. Cortisol and sex hormones interact in complex ways, and as sex hormones decline, women often experience increased cortisol spikes throughout the day, which can lead to a "fight or flight" response even in non-stressful situations.

Plus, many women gain weight during menopause, especially belly fat, which can be partially attributed to changes in cortisol levels. Cortisol affects how the body stores fat, and encourages fat accumulation around the abdomen.

This menopause cortisol weight gain just exacerbates all of the problems already brewing in your body during this time. It compromises your metabolic health, throws your hormones even further out of balance, makes it more difficult to exercise, and makes joint pain worse — it’s the perfect storm for increased menopause symptoms all around.

Symptoms Of High Cortisol Levels In Females

So what exactly happens in your body when cortisol levels rise?

Here are some of the most common ways to tell your cortisol is careening out of control:

Anxiety
Fatigue
Irritability
Low libido
Depression
Mood swings
Difficulty sleeping
Loss of muscle mass
Increased blood sugar
Decreased bone density
Increased blood pressure
Weight gain, especially around the middle and the face

How To Reduce Cortisol In Menopause

Managing cortisol, especially during menopause, can make your life feel so much better in so many ways.

While a lot of the process starts with releasing some old beliefs and letting go of patterns that aren’t serving you anymore, there are some tangible things you can do to help shift you into a state where cortisol isn’t running the show.

Here are some of my favorite tools for getting a hold of stress and re-centering myself:

1. Sauna Therapy

Nothing helps melt the stress away the way cooking yourself in a sauna does.

I hop in my sauna daily and it’s one of my go-to stress relief tactics.

Sauna therapy encourages the body to release heat shock proteins, which help mitigate stress responses and could lower cortisol. In addition to its heavenly calming effect, sauna use is often associated with relaxation and may support overall well-being. (4,5)

This is my favorite sauna right now. Use code DRTYNA to save 10%!

2. Weight Lifting

Engaging in strength training exercises, such as weight lifting, not only helps with physical strength and bone density—both critical during menopause—but also helps to regulate cortisol.

Deadlifts really do fix everything. When you’re feeling stressed out, frustrated, and annoyed by every little thing…hitting the weights lets you process it all in a positive way.

Regular resistance training can also lower stress levels by boosting endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators. Plus, strength training supports your metabolism, which in turn helps combat cortisol-related weight gain, especially around the abdomen.

If you aren’t weight training yet, now is the time. Click here to learn how to lift and finally start reaping the benefits!

3. Adrenal Support

Your adrenal glands are so crucial to your menopause experience — how well you treat them can make a huge difference in the way you feel during this transition.

When your adrenals are happy, they will produce Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which then gets turned into sex hormones. This makes your adrenals a nice little backup generator of sorts for when your ovaries are slowing down.

When your adrenals aren’t happy, they’re pumping out cortisol. Which is at the heart of all the problems we’re exploring here.

So, that means you’ve got to focus on treating your adrenals right.

Here are the basics:

Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule
Eat a well-balanced diet that includes plenty of protein (your adrenals love B vitamins) and vitamin C
Try taking an adrenal health supplement like my Resilience formula during the day, which includes best-in-class adaptogens and glandular (the ultimate in adrenal support!). Supporting your adrenals properly during the day gives you energy and helps your mood.
Try soothing your adrenals at night, with my Chill Pill and Relax Tonic. I take both of these together in the evening to help my body relax and drift off to sleep easily.

Once you’ve experienced adrenal glands that are supported properly day and night, you’ll remember what it feels like to have energy and true stamina.

4. Digital Detox

Reducing exposure to digital screens and media can have a significant impact on your stress levels.

If you’re constantly connected to your phone, your newsfeed, and the news — you’re stressing yourself out, even if you don’t even realize it. Just the blue lights emitted from all the screens that are in your face every day raise cortisol.

Try implementing a digital detox. Whether that’s by going "tech-free" for certain hours during the day, just being a bit more mindful of screen use, or disconnecting from social media — all of these tactics can offer the nervous system a break. This can help cortisol levels to normalize and improve mental clarity. Plus, it just makes you feel better all around.

5. Pets As Stress Relievers

My pets help me to get a hold of my stress. I love my dogs and I love snuggling with them, petting them, and just hanging with them.

What’s really cool about animals is that interacting with them releases oxytocin, the “love” hormone that opposes cortisol in your body. (6,7)

So, whether you’ve got a dog, cat, or another companion animal, spending time with them can reduce stress and anxiety, which is a major win in my book.

6. Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Your vagus nerve is a key player in regulating the body's relaxation response.

Stimulating the vagus nerve can effectively lower cortisol levels.

Techniques such as singing, deep breathing, and cold exposure (like ice baths or cold showers) can activate the vagus nerve, which encourages the parasympathetic nervous system to calm the body down. This process helps counterbalance the stress response triggered by high cortisol levels and supports better mood and sleep regulation.

Menopause, Cortisol, And Learning To Let Go

While cortisol serves many important roles in your body, too much of anything causes chaos.

Sometimes, you’ve got to give yourself permission to just chase joy. Shamelessly promote oxytocin. Prioritize what makes you happy — and watch the stress melt away.

I know we’re often told that this kind of behavior is selfish or foolish, but ultimately, you’ve only got one life. Don’t waste it being stressed out and unhappy.

If you’re in menopause and feeling like cortisol is running your life, start by implementing some of the tips I’ve outlined here. They’ll help put you on the right path.

If I have to choose just one thing to start with, I’d recommend taking an adrenal support formula daily. It will help give you the energy you need to make the other changes and will help clear the fog. Check out my Resilience adrenal formula here.

Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog/podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While Dr. Tyna Moore is a licensed doctor, she is not the reader’s or listener’s personal doctor. Individuals should always consult a qualified healthcare provider before making decisions about treatments, supplements, sauna use, or significant changes to their exercise routine. The benefits of strength training and other exercise interventions can vary among individuals, so personalized advice is essential to avoid potential injury. Professional medical advice should not be disregarded or delayed because of something read or heard in this content.

This blog/podcast may contain affiliate links, meaning Dr. Moore may earn a small commission if purchases are made through these links, at no additional cost to the consumer. Links to Dr. Moore’s courses and supplements are provided for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Statements about supplements and products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Individual results may vary.

Use of this content does not establish a doctor-patient relationship with Dr. Tyna Moore. Readers and listeners are advised to consult a licensed healthcare professional for personalized medical guidance.

References

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