Stress Hormones Released into the Blood Stream During a Period of Stress.

What are stress hormones? Your body is an amazing creation. Within you is a protection system against danger. When your brain senses that you are being threatened, an alarm goes off inside you causing a chain reaction of events. It is these hormones being secreted that activate these events.

Cortisol and adrenaline are 2 important hormones activated by the stress response. They are produced by the adrenal gland, located just above the kidneys.

Cortisol is a steroid that plays an important role in everyday functioning of your body. It's involved in maintaining blood pressure and maintaining blood sugar, fat and carbohydrate metabolism, appetite, immune system and inflammatory responses.

Under normal circumstances, cortisol level is highest in the morning and lowest at night. Adrenaline (also called epinephrine) is meant to prepare your body and mind for danger. It raises heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and increases concentration. When your body perceives a threat, adrenaline is released suddenly throughout your whole body - reaching your brain within a couple seconds. (Thus the term adrenaline rush.)

It diverts blood flow from internal organs (like the stomach, spleen and skin) and parts of the brain. It then re-routes it to major muscles and limbs - as if preparing you for escape. There is a breakdown of glycogen in the liver so more glucose is available for energy.

You often hear of someone's heroic action, like a fireman miraculously snatching a child from a fire that is about to consume her, or someone, against all odds, fighting off a large wild animal. Quick thinking and superhuman actions are the result of these hormones in action.

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