Using Cortisol & Adrenaline to Boost Our Energy & Immune System

Whenever we are fasting we are putting ourself on the edge of stress and alertness due to increased epinephrine and cortisol. If you are already highly stressed this can have averse effects.

Fasting releases ghreline, which binds to receptors that normally bind to growth hormone releasing hormone triggering the release of growth hormones.

Cortisol can cross the blood-brain barrier (adrenaline cannot). This means the body can enter states of alertness without affecting the brain. Cold water and breathing protocols (Tumo, Wim Hoff Breathing) can trigger the release of Adrenaline while trying to calm yourself. You want to move through this calmly. Epinephrine released from the adrenal ... See more

Their net effect is to increase energy.

Cortisol is derived from colestoral and is a steroid hormone like the sex hormones, but is their competitive partner. Sex hormones and cortisol compete for colestoral depending on your state. CRH is made in the Brain and causes the pituitary to release ACTH, which triggers the a drenals to release cortisol. Cortisol motivates movement and satiety.

Most problems occur that people cannot regulate the stress (levels of cortisol and epinephrine in the brain) to stay calm and select the right action.

Make sure your peak in cortisol is when you wake up by getting sunlight. Stressors and unpleasant events trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol through the day, but they need to be brief. If you struggle with alertness, it can be beneficial to deliberately increase the release through stressors like HIIT, cold exposure.

Bombesin: Stress liberates bombesin, which reduces eating.

The increase of epinephrine after the learning triggers the neuroplasticity. It primes the hippocampus to encode the prior learned content. The optimal strategy would be a 90 minute bout of learning, trigger epinephrine, bout of NSDR.