You know that all-too-familiar feeling of waking up with less energy than you went to sleep with; driving yourself through your demanding day fueled by caffeine, sugar, and prayer; only to crash into bed at who-knows-what time feeling like you’ve accomplished nothing? All the while your head is engulfed in a huge cloud.... These are all symptoms of energy burnout that I hear women describe every single day. When we look at the stress response system that is activated while you are feeling overwhelmed and burned out, we focus our attention on your adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are the hub of your stress response system in your body. So if you’re stimulating them too much, they may start to fight back by becoming sluggish and unproductive.
WHAT ARE YOUR ADRENALS?
Your adrenals are the “A” in your HPA axis, which regulates your body’s overall hormone homeostasis. The primary job of your adrenals is to respond to stress by stimulating your fight or flight instincts. This is mainly done with the hormone cortisol, which circulates and drives your body to action. This is helpful during short spurts when you require the hypervigilance and higher energy to help you focus on whatever threat you’re facing. However, it creates a downward spiral leading to utter chaos when it goes unchecked. Your adrenals are also significant producers of chemicals: hormones and neurotransmitters that stabilize your mood and keep you energized. When you face stress (whether physical, mental, emotional or perceived), your HPA axis kicks into gear as it was designed to, sending you into what’s called “sympathetic dominance.” However, our modern culture of #rushingwomansyndrome, needing to do all the things for all the people all the time. Placing unrealistic expectations on ourselves leads us to camp out in this state for WAY too long. Your adrenals become taxed by your constant demand because of the chronic stress you face on a daily (or hourly) basis. They then begin to lag, not producing enough of the hormones and chemicals that keep you moving and in balance.
SYMPTOMS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Beyond just feeling tired and fatigued, here are some other signs your adrenals could be lagging:
Reduced motivation and low mood
Dysregulated stress response
“Wired and tired” feeling — bouncing back and forth between high energy “fight” mode and exhaustion
Inexplicable weight gain and belly fat
Binge eating
Sugar cravings
Infertility
Brain fog
NATURAL WAYS TO REGAIN YOUR ENERGY
It’s hard to go through life tired. I’ve tried (and failed) at many points in my life. It’s easy to get desperate and reach for a quick-fix way to feel energized (enter that triple-shot espresso, bag of peanut M&M’s, or donut in the breakroom). But ultimately, these things are going to fail you and you’re just going to crash again in a couple of hours. Because what do these do? They treat the symptoms without addressing the real issue. So let’s work together to find ways to treat your body with the love it deserves! Stop masking your fatigue and find REAL ways to heal your body. Here are some natural ways to combat fatigue from the root and fuel your body for greatness each and every day:
#1 – GET ENOUGH SLEEP
This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s worth saying. You’re going to feel tired if you don’t get enough quality sleep at night! This isn’t necessarily about quantity, but rather that you actually achieve restful sleep to allow your body to reset, recharge, and be ready to conquer your next day.
#2 – FUEL YOUR BODY WITH WHOLESOME FOODS (WATCH FOR BLOOD SUGAR SPIKES AND DIPS)
Because of the relationship between insulin and your adrenals, you want to be sure you’re fueling your body with wholesome foods and not just carb-laden meals that cause your blood sugar to take a roller coaster ride. Healthy fats, quality proteins, and lots and lots of greens are the best recipe for stable insulin levels and happy hormones!
#3 – USE POWERFUL ESSENTIAL OILS
Need some quick energy? Reach for your Peppermint and citrus essential oils. I love using these to start my day and have on hand for a quick pick-me-up no matter where I am. Just rolling these onto your palms and inhaling deeply will be enough to feel instant energy! To show your adrenals some love in particular, I’ve formulated my Adrenal Love blend. This powerful blend of oils will downregulate your stress response INSTANTLY; so you can get yourself out of sympathetic dominance and restore balance to your body:
LOVE YOUR ADRENALS - ROLLERBALL BLEND Ingredients: 4 drops Lemon essential oil 5 drops Rosemary essential oil 3 drops Peppermint essential oil
Directions: Add essential oils to a 10 ml glass rollerball bottle. Top off with carrier oil of choice. Roll onto pulse points, palms, adrenals, and back of neck for instant stress relief.
#4 – TAKE QUALITY SUPPLEMENTS
Stores are FULL of supplements and products touting energy benefits…but what should you look for? You don’t want something that’s going to be over-stimulating, you don’t want something that will make you feel jittery, and you don’t want something that is just going to mask what you’re dealing with.
If you can relate and feel that you want to dive deeper into finding the root cause for your tiredness, please do get in touch today.