LEMON BALM

CORTISOL DEFICIENT

Based on your Hormone Type Quiz, cortisol deficiency may be to blame for a majority of your symptoms!

Cortisol is known as our “stress hormone” because we pump out more of it when we experience stress. The term stress can mean either a psychological stressor (e.g., passing of a family member, having a miscarriage, demanding job) or a physical stressor (e.g., being sick, intense exercise, prolonged fasting). However, cortisol does more than just help your body deal with stress. It also helps regulate your circadian rhythm, metabolism, immune system, blood pressure, and other essential functions. Your adrenal glands are constantly producing cortisol throughout the day, no matter if you are stressed or not. Cortisol production is at its highest in the morning and lowest at night. This diurnal pattern helps regulate your energy levels and sleep-wake cycle. The body usually produces the right amount of cortisol at the right time, but certain conditions can occur that result in too little or too much cortisol production. Too little cortisol can result in fatigue, inability to cope with stress, mood changes, sleep disturbances, salt & sugar cravings, exercise intolerance, chronic pain, poor memory, panic attacks, and low blood sugar.

Lemon balm hormone types are the definition of “burnout”. There are 3 stages to stress: the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage. The alarm stage is the initial stress response when you are in the “fight or flight” mode and releasing lots of cortisol and adrenaline. The resistance stage occurs if stress continues. Your body does what it can to help push through the stress until it can no longer keep up with the high demands. This is when you enter the exhaustion stage aka “burnout”. The exhaustion stage is where a lot of health problems arise. You may notice yourself feeling extremely depleted, having no energy throughout the day, no motivation, and overwhelmed by any little task.