HORMONE HEALTH & EXERCISE | PART ONE - STRESS HORMONES

It is no secret in this day and age that exercise can provide many valuable health benefits such as improved cardiovascular health, reduced risk of chronic disease such as heart disease or diabetes, and increased self-efficacy and confidence. However, an often overlooked benefit of exercise is the effect it has on balancing the body’s hormones. With all the hype on social media and news outlets about “optimizing hormones”, I want to present some facts about how exercise can affect hormones, and how we can use the information to improve our quality of life. 

What Are Hormones?

So what are hormones? Hormones are chemical signals that travel throughout the body via the bloodstream to the body’s tissues, telling them how to function. Essentially, they are signals that tell your body what to do and how to do it.There are two main categories of hormones often talked about in relationship to exercise, stress hormones and sex hormones. Stress hormones, catecholamines and cortisol, are often thought of as the stress hormones. Originating in the adrenal glands located above the kidneys, catecholamines are released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress. The three primary catecholamines are dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine (aka adrenaline).Cortisol is also released by the adrenal glands into the body in response to physiologicall or psychosocial stress. This is the phenomenon known commonly as the “fight or flight” response. Sex hormones are androgens (testosterone), estrogen, and progesterone. These are produced in the ovaries or testes and are responsible for puberty, pregnancy, menstruation, sex drive and much more. They also greatly affect body fat, lean muscle mass, mood and energy levels. Today we are going to discuss the stress hormones, as the sex hormones and their response to exercise warrants its own post to come later. 

Why Be Concerned About Hormones?

Our bodies were not built for the environment we currently live in. Increased screen time, more sedentary lifestyles, environmental pollutants and high stress climates have many people feeling worse for wear. Often, this is because their hormone health has been affected by one or more of these factors. Generally speaking, people have much higher resting cortisol levels than would be considered optimal. Elevated cortisol levels can cause sleep disruption, body fat gain, blood sugar dysregulation, mood swings, and much more. Outside of supplementation, exercise, when dosed properly, can be one of the best ways to regulate hormone levels and stress.

How Does Exercise Help?

Exercise is considered a stress to the body. An exercise bout will cause an acute stress response in the body. This means, like with any other form of stress, your adrenal glands are releasing catecholamines and cortisol. According to something called the cross-stressor adaptation hypothesis, regular physical activity and, therefore, exposure to stress, causes biological adaptations to the stress response, which it is believed will also carry over in reduction of physiological symptoms in response to psychosocial stress. 

Alright…so what does that mean in English? 

To make it simple: exposing yourself regularly to a relatively healthy form of physical stress via exercise could make your body better prepared to handle psychological stress. 

However, like most things in life, it is not a one-size solution to fit all. If you’re already in a state of hormonal illness, for example, training needs to be well-structured to prevent further damage. This is also particularly important for women, as our hormones fluctuate much more throughout our lives and the typical fitness practices we are encouraged to participate in are not always the healthiest practices for hormone balance. Unfortunately, it is also possible for exercise to have the opposite effect on hormonal health, when not properly programmed or executed. That is why it is important to embark on your fitness journey under the guise of a well-educated professional that will ensure your program is not only providing you with the best results, but doing so in a way that doesn’t potentially cause harm. 

Written by Coach Anna Hoots; M.S.E.S, CSCS, CPT

We do not claim to be medical professionals or claim to give medical advice. You should consult your physician or doctor if you have any questions or concerns regarding this information.