4 surprising causes of high cortisol levels that you might not know

Stress is something we all face in our regular day-to-day lives. The hormone responsible for stress is cortisol, and it plays quite an effective role in managing our body's response to the varying types of stress.

It is often seen that there are spikes in cortisol levels. While this may be normal, but a regular trend of high cortisol levels can be an underlying problem that must be taken care of.

Thus, understanding the causes of high cortisol levels in the human body is highly important to living a healthy lifestyle. In this article, we will discuss what are the signs of elevated levels of cortisol and the various causes of high cortisol levels.

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What are the causes of high cortisol?

Causes of high cortisol (Image by Drazen Zigic on Freepik)

Before getting into the causes of cortisol it is important to get a glimpse of what exactly cortisol is all about, how is it important for us, and how its levels can affect our body functions.

Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands, regulated by the pituitary gland in the brain. Cortisol performs quite important tasks for the body. It regulates the blood sugar level, helps in the reduction of inflammation levels, and also plays an important role in managing the metabolism.

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Impact of Stress

Whenever we are in a state of stress, it is seen that the body releases cortisol. If stress is observed regularly the cortisol levels can be problematic. Thus, if you are facing chronic stress it is possible that the cortisol levels can get higher and this imposes more chances for health risks in the body.

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Problems in Pituitary Glands

Pituitary glands play an important role in controlling various body functions, including the regulation of cortisol. The pituitary gland produces an excess amount of cortisol due to being overactive, which is called hyperpituitarism.

In addition to this, there could be other problems in the pituitary gland, which can be the reason behind high cortisol levels. It could be due to either cancer or the presence of a tumor in the pituitary gland.

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Medication Side-effects

There are many medicines for the treatment of various conditions like asthma or arthritis, which when consumed can raise the levels of cortisol. Thus, it is better to get consultancy from a medical expert so as to avoid any sort of future complications.

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Adrenal Gland Problems

Apart from the above causes of high cortisol, problems in the adrenal gland can cause greater levels of it. The presence of tumors may secrete excessive cortisol.

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What are the symptoms of High Cortisol Levels?

How to identify high cortisol levels? (Image by master1305 on Freepik)

Due to high levels of cortisol, one can face a variety of symptoms in their body. The symptoms can include a change in the weight. A sudden increase in the weight around the face or the abdomen and an increase in weight in between the shoulder blades may be significant symptoms of increased levels of cortisol.

Further, the presence of acne and weakness in the muscles can also be behind high cortisol. Other symptoms may include excess fatigue, facing problems in concentrating, and a significant increase in blood pressure.

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Causes of high cortisol (Image by pikisuperstar on Freepik)

Understanding the causes of high cortisol and acknowledging the symptoms of the same is important. If the presence of high cortisol is possible then it is better to get medical consultation as soon as possible.

Maintaining a proper healthy lifestyle will help you in reducing the cortisol levels. Getting quality sleep, effective stress management, and exercising regularly can help with lowering its levels. Inculcating small changes in your routine can bring around effective changes.