Now, how does the organism react to these stimuli that it interprets as threats? The first thing that will be activated is our sympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system related to action and that will put our body in motion preparing for the fight or flight reaction. The other main actor are the adrenal glands, which are two little hats that we have on top of our kidneys that will be activated to deal with stress, first in its internal part, in the medulla, secreting in the first phase, the alarm phase: adrenaline and noradrenaline.
These hormones are responsible for making our heart pump harder and we have more vasodilation, so that blood is redirected to the muscles, to the heart and lungs and thus have the body ready to deal with the emergency situation. Then, if this stress continues over time, a second very important hormone enters the scene, which is glucocorticoids or cortisol. This is secreted in the adrenal capsule and is responsible for sustaining this stress activity over time. Cortisol has other effects on our organism; it has to do with a "war" immune system where inflammation predominates, a faster immune system but much less specific.
We will also have higher levels of glucose in our blood so that it reaches our brain, muscles and heart, and we will be more coagulated so that any eventual bleeding will be cut faster. Less "vital" functions such as digestion and repair are diminished to give up energy to functions more related to survival. And if the stress continues even longer, we will enter a third phase which is adrenal exhaustion.
At a naturopathic level the proposal would be not to reach this point, for this the main thing is to have a good management of our stress through working also the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the one of relaxation, repair and regeneration. We can work it through yoga and meditation, and it is also very interesting to take short breaks during the day. Our body is not designed to be eight hours with full sympathetic nervous system or activation and then stop suddenly, we need to make an exchange between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system throughout the day, but we know that in our society this is sometimes complicated. There are periods that can come where we need to dedicate a season to some project or exams or other circumstances and we have to sustain that stress for a while.
For this, there is a very specific type of plants that are adaptogenic plants. As their name suggests, they are plants that help us to adapt to a situation of sustained stress over time and reduce all these harmful effects that stress can bring to our body. My favorite adaptogenic plant is rhodhiola, it is a plant that helps the action of the adrenal glands, gives us energy if we are already feeling tired, helps the nervous system and also helps regulate the function of the immune system.
Another super interesting plant at this time is the Ashwagandha, it is a plant of Ayurvedic medicine, very interesting also after having spent a season of high stress or while we are going through it. It has a relaxing, gentle action and also allows us to regulate energy throughout the day and is very suitable for the regulation of blood sugar, which is also given by an excess of cortisol.
If what we have experienced is a lot of tiredness, Eleutherococcus or Siberian ginseng can come in handy. It is a plant that helps to increase our energy without making us too nervous or cause us tachycardia, as usually happens with normal ginseng, helps us feel more energetic and gradually recover our normal post-stress state. I also like very much in these cases the oat extract, avenin, is an active principle of oats and is a very mild sedative, allows us to continue with our daily activity while helping to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and thus also enter into these important phases after having spent a sustained stress over time.
However, remember to consult your family doctor, medical specialist or health professional if you are taking any medication or pathology so that he/she can evaluate if there are any contraindications in taking natural supplements and your particular characteristics.
Hi rafabvr,
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