What is the best way to reduce stress hormones?
Since the strength of the perceived subjectively felt stress is significantly related to the levels of the stress hormones, a reduction in the stress hormone levels initially means a reduction in the perceived stress. To achieve this goal, there are now a number of different methods that can vary greatly in their effectiveness from person to person. Thus, the motto of trying out is primarily valid here in order to find the individually most effective remedy against stress.
The methods for stress reduction range from the introduction of small rituals in everyday life, to the performance of sports activities, yoga, relaxation techniques, meditation and many other possibilities. One of the best known exercises that can be assigned to relaxation techniques is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). In this exercise, individual muscle groups are tensed and relaxed from a state of complete rest.
The focus here is on the perception of relaxation in the muscle. A complete session with PMR involves performing the technique with all muscle groups of the body. For sports activities, quiet sports are particularly suitable, where one can let one’s thoughts circle, as is the case when jogging, for example.
Many different types of yoga have also been shown in studies to significantly reduce stress, such as the yoga form of Yoga Nidra. This form of yoga focuses less on physical exercise and more on the perception of one’s own body. However, those who do not have the time to do yoga, a lot of sports or meditation in everyday life can try to integrate small rituals into their daily routine. For example, it has been shown that even taking a deep and conscious breath for 1 minute before starting a stressful task can significantly reduce the perceived stress.
How can stress hormones be measured?
Most stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, noradenaline, etc. can be detected in the blood, urine and saliva. However, the values determined by blood and saliva levels can fluctuate considerably during the course of the day.
When measuring the hormone levels on the basis of the concentration in the urine, it must be ensured that this is collected in a container for 24 hours and the concentration is determined from this in order to compensate for the described strong fluctuations and to be able to make a statement about the average hormone level. For cortisol the standard values for the blood sample are between 30 and 225 μg/l. In the determination by means of collective urine the value lies between 21 and 150 μg/l.
The main function of the hormone prolactin in the female body is the reconstruction of the breast during pregnancy and the promotion of milk secretion during lactation. It also triggers, among other things, the psychological reaction of the so-called “brood care”. It is therefore surprising that prolactin also shows an increase in concentration under stress, since its function is initially not in any obvious connection with the development of the stress reaction.
For this reason, it is also only partially assigned to the stress hormones. However, it is known that prolactin can prevent or delay ovulation. For example, the increase in prolactin during stress could be due to the fact that this prevents pregnancy in a stressful phase by the body, which could have negative consequences for the mother and child.
