{"id":150302314181,"date":"2023-04-17T11:50:39","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T15:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bioptimizers.com\/blog\/?p=150302314181"},"modified":"2024-08-19T05:47:44","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T09:47:44","slug":"hpa-axis-dysfunction-part-1-causes-and-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bioptimizers.com\/blog\/hpa-axis-dysfunction-part-1-causes-and-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"HPA Axis Dysfunction Part 1: Causes and Symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stress is unavoidable nowadays, whether it be from traffic, work, family, the economy, etc. For most people, unmanaged stress can throw off their stress response<\/a> system (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis or HPA axis). This can cause HPA axis dysfunction, or what many call adrenal fatigue. The good news is that you don\u2019t have to let the stress affect your health. When you understand how the stress response works in your body, you can protect your health and maintain optimum performance amidst the stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In part 1 of this article, you will learn about your stress responses, along with the symptoms and causes of HPA axis dysfunction. In part<\/a> 2,<\/a> we\u2019ll share strategies to mitigate many negative effects of stress to protect your health and performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is The HPA Axis And How Does The Stress Response Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stressful experiences activate your stress response, which is the interaction between your brain and glands in your body. This interaction is the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis), which are the exact hormone glands in your body that are involved, in that order.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HPA axis helps you respond to stress. Then, ideally, it should get you back to homeostasis or balance. Let\u2019s take a closer look at what happens when your body experiences stress.                                                                                                                                                                            <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short-Term Effects Of Stress<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you first experience stress, you might feel a fight or flight in your body as your sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear. It releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, causing increased heart rate and possible sweating. Soon, after about 10 seconds, your hypothalamus senses the increase in norepinephrine and sends a hormonal signal into the bloodstream.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many people, it feels good and exhilarating. You feel less pain, clearer brain, better focus, and more energized. In fact, high performance requires being able to activate this state. But to stay healthy, you\u2019ll also have to be able to shut off your stress response and enter a rest-and-digest state. The key is to be able to recover from the stress without letting it affect your health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the pituitary senses the fight or flight, it sends more signals to the adrenal glands, so they secrete cortisol (a glucocorticoid). You have glucocorticoid receptors in most of your tissues throughout the body, so it affects nearly every single organ system.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the short-term, cortisol does the following essential functions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Enables you to run faster by increasing your heart\u2019s output <\/strong><\/li>
  2. Increases your blood sugar to provide your cells with more energy<\/span><\/li>
  3. Mobilizes fat and proteins to ensure your muscles have enough nutrients to act quickly<\/span><\/strong><\/li>
  4. Kills proinflammatory T cells and prevents the production of white blood cells that make antibodies, B cells<\/span> <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This means that when cortisol pumps through your body, your immune system becomes suppressed. You may feel less pain and mental clarity, and sometimes better overall with these initial high cortisol levels. However, this immune suppression also explains why many people get sick after a big bout of stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your HPA axis also responds to all physical and psychological stress in your body.<\/span> High cortisol levels remain steady when the HPA axis overstimulation occurs through chronic stress or certain illnesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


    In the short term, these stress responses are essential for your survival. However, if the stress responses don\u2019t shut off, they can lead to many negative health effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What Is HPA Axis Dysfunction?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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    Your HPA axis works as a negative feedback loop. When your cortisol levels get too high, it tells your hypothalamus and pituitary to stop stimulating the adrenals. Also, when the critical period of stress or sickness passes, cortisol levels should return to normal. These are ideal situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, with HPA axis dysfunction, your body may struggle with the HPA response or shutting off the response to any stressor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    HPA axis dysfunction happens when your pituitary gland and hypothalamus become less sensitive to cortisol levels. As a result, it fails to return to homeostasis or keep the cortisol levels in check.<\/span> Your body then struggles to return to a healthy balance. This can cause you to produce too much or too little cortisol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In most cases, even if you have HPA axis dysfunction, your blood cortisol levels will be normal because blood tests are meant to detect severely abnormal cortisol levels, such as Addison\u2019s or Cushing\u2019s. However, functional tests such as salivary or urinary cortisol tests can detect unhealthy cortisol patterns or HPA axis dysfunctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The results of HPA axis dysregulation can lead to numerous health concerns, including <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n