ADRENAL STRESS INDEX TEST

Our society is stressed. Doctors who have been running the Adrenal Stress Index test over the years say patients have been getting worse over the years and it is becoming very rare to see a "normal" test. Today's modern day lifestyle is the likely culprit in creating a "wired and tired" society who need a jumbo sized Starbucks in the morning just to get going.

The Stress Glands

The glands responsible for helping us through stressful situation are refered to as the adrenals, two small 3 - 5 gram glands that sit on top of the kidneys. They produce a number of chemicals to help our body deal with stress, including cortisol and adrenaline.

The Adrenal Rhythm

The adrenal glands produce cortisol in a rhythm, starting with high levels in the morning when you wake up and slowly decreasing through out the day, hitting a low point when you go to bed. Cortisol levels are highest in the morning around 7am, and are lowest around 10pm at night.

Out of Rhythm

When our adrenal glands get out of rhythm a number of things can happen. Some people have high cortisol levels throughout the day, some eventually get so fatigued they cannot even produce cortisol anymore, and others reverse their rhythm so cortisol is high at night and low in the morning.

The following presentation will teach you a little about the Adrenal Stress Index test and why we routinely run it on our patients.