Friday, January 25, 2019

Cortisol: The Stress Hormone





Cortisol

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates a wide range of processes throughout the body, including metabolic and immune responses. There is also a very important role in helping the body respond to stress.

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a steroid hormone, one of glucocorticoids, which is made in the cortex of adrenal glands and then released into the blood, which transmits it to the whole body. Almost every cell has receptors for cortisol and therefore there are various types of actions in cortisol, depending on which type of cells it is working on. These effects control the body’s blood glucose levels and thus controlling metabolism, acting as anti-inflammatory, affecting memory production, controlling salt and water balance, affecting blood pressure and fetal development Includes assisting in Cortisol is also responsible for triggering the processes involved in giving birth.
A similar version of this hormone, known as corticosterone, is produced by rodents, birds and reptiles.

How is Cortisol Controlled?

The blood level of Cortisol is dramatically different, but when we wake up, it is usually high in the morning, and then falls all day. This is called a daily rhythm. In people working in the night, this pattern is reversed, so the time of cortisol release is clearly linked to the daily activity pattern. In addition, in response to stress, additional cortisol is released to help the body respond properly.
The secretion of cortisol is predominantly controlled by the three inter-communication areas of the body, the hypothalamus in the brain, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland. It is called the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. When the level of cortisol in the blood is low, in a region of the brain, a group of cells called hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing hormone, causing the pituitary gland to sprinkle another hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone in the blood stream is. High levels of adrenocorticotropic hormones are found in the adrenal glands and stimulate the secretion of cortisol, thereby increasing the blood level of cortisol. As the level of cortisol increases, they begin to block the release of corticotrophin-releasing hormones from the pituitary by the hypothalamus and adrenocorticotropic hormones. Consequently, the level of adrenocorticotropic hormone begins to fall, after which the level of cortisol falls. This is called a negative feedback loop. Read More


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