The adrenal glands are glands that are just over an inch. Though they’re small, they produce a lot of the hormones that your body has to have to keep on functioning. These glands are located right on top of your kidneys.
When they’re producing hormones in the right amount, you feel great, but when these hormones get out of balance, you can experience a host of problems. Some women experience problems sleeping, fatigue or a loss of interest in intimacy when their adrenal system isn’t working well.
When your adrenal glands begin to struggle, that can be known as adrenal fatigue. It’s simply a scientific way of saying that the adrenal glands are failing to work correctly. When this problem occurs in your body, it can lead to such fatigue that you simply can’t function normally.
It’s difficult to do tasks – much less get through a whole day. Many women with hormone imbalances caused by adrenal system problems report the need to sleep more than normal.
You can also experience unexplained irritability or weight gain. One of the biggest problems when your adrenal glands cause a hormonal imbalance is that your cells don’t get the energy that they need.
You might be surprised to find that one of the causes of adrenal problems that lead to hormone imbalances is stress. When you live with a lot of stress in your life, your body’s communication pathway is constantly telling the adrenal glands to hand over some cortisol, which your adrenal glands respond to.
The problem occurs because the communication pathway gets caught in a loop. The adrenal glands are constantly being told to give more and more cortisol. This puts the body in a constant survival state.
Your body’s hormones go on high alert but in a hormonal imbalance, the “danger’s over” signal doesn’t connect, so your hormones don’t get the message that everything is okay and to power back down.
A hormone imbalance can last so long that your adrenal hormones drop dangerously low. You can experience anxiety, feelings of sadness or depression and in some cases, you reach a point where you can’t function mentally.
If a hormone imbalance isn’t treated, it can cause your hormone levels to dip low enough to become life threatening. When your hormones are off balance, you need to take care of your adrenal system.
One of the best ways to do that is to minimize or get rid of the stress in your life. You can exercise, meditate, do yoga or other things known to help the body relax. If you suspect your hormones aren’t at optimal levels, to protect your adrenal system, go get your levels checked.
Make sure that you get the right amount of rest and eat a healthy diet. Limit caffeine, too – since it has a stimulant effect on the adrenal glands. Your doctor can properly advise you on more lifestyle changes or products that can assist you with your efforts.
