Adrenal fatigue has become more and more common in modern society. Many people suffer the symptoms of adrenal exhaustion. These adrenal symptoms occur as a result of stress.
People in our society are always on the go. Chronic stress from work, family, school or whatever stressful situations you can think of, cause the adrenal glands to be pushed to their limits. Diet also contributes to it. Consuming caffeine and/or sugar puts additional stress on the adrenals.
The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. They're responsible for regulating 50 hormones in the body. Cortisol is one of those hormones. Normally, your adrenals will give you a bit of cortisol in the morning that makes you want to get up. It helps make you alert after sleep. That level will drop slowly during the day and will come down more rapidly at night to prepare you for sleep. When this normal pattern doesn't occur you feel tired in the morning and can't sleep at night.
Some of the symptoms of adrenal exhaustion are:
feeling tired easily
mild depression
muscle weakness
salt cravings
decreased ability to handle stress
decreased sex drive
Though this condition is commonly diagnosed in the natural health world, it isn't recognized by medical doctors.
There is a disease caused by underactive adrenals called Addison's disease. The symptoms of this disease include, fatigue, weight loss, aches and pains, low blood pressure and loss of body hair. Adrenal fatigue is thought to be a less intense version of this disease.
The Effects of Massage
Massage therapy can be used to help regulate the hormones and calm the nervous system to reduce the stress response. It can help ease depression and help you sleep more easily through the night. Besides helping with the symptoms of adrenal exhaustion, massage can help lessen the stress hormones in the blood stream.
Massage styles like shiatsu, Thai massage, Swedish massage and Esalen massage are great for supplementing the treatment of this condition.
Aromatherapy massage is another good massage for this condition. The use of aromatherapy oils will help soothe the mind and ease stress even further.
Other Natural Remedies
Besides getting regular massages there are other things you can to to rest your adrenals and restore your health.
Diet
Caffiene and sugar increase the stress put on your adrenal glands. Cutting these stimulants out of your diet will help rest your adrenals.
I know that many people are addicted to caffiene and that giving it up can be quite difficult. It can cause headaches and fatigue. If you feel like you can't give up caffiene completely try to cut down your intake. Instead of drinking three cups of coffee daily, for example, drink one.
Sugar also stimulates your adrenals. When I talk about sugar I don't just mean the refined white stuff. High fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners have a damaging effect also. Cut all sweeteners out of your diet. If you need to use a sweetener try unrefined stevia.
Avoid white starches. White, bread, pasta and rice all convert to sugar quickly in the system.
Vitamins
Vitamins C and B5 will help you recover from adrenal fatigue. You can take these vitamins as supplements or get them in vitamin rich foods. Vitamin D is also important for adrenal gland recovery. Get thirty minutes of sunlight exposure daily to make sure you're getting the amount of vitamin D your body needs.
Rest
Rest is another essential element of your recovery. Over exercise can be one reason you get adrenal fatigue. While you're trying to recover get moderate exercise, but make sure you don't overstress yourself.
Establish a regular sleep schdule. Ideally, your body is designed to sleep when it is dark and be awake during daylight hours. With modern technology we've moved away from that though. Electric lights allow us to stay awake all night if we want. The problem is that what we want isn't always the best thing for us.
I live in the UK much of the year and in the winter it starts getting dark at around four thirty in the afternoon. That's far too early to go to bed. You get your best qualty sleep if you are in bed by ten o'clock. Make it your goal to be in bed by ten. About an hour before you go to bed prepare for sleep.
You can signal to your body that it is time to sleep by turning on low lamps and avoiding using overhead lights. The dim light will help your body wind down. Do something relaxing like read a book before bed and give your mind some time to get used to the idea that soon it will be time for sleep. If you have trouble sleeping try taking a warm bath before bed and eating a starchy snack.
