Issue 154
Too much of this stress hormone – released when your knuckles flex white – can dent your performance. Here’s how to keep it in balance.
Cortisol is a friend not a foe. It’s what makes your body the most adaptable thing on the planet by cueing your heart to thump faster, giving you more energy and mobilizing more adrenaline; so just about everything you want to happen before a fight or hard training session. But too much of it – thanks to stressors like injuries, deadlines or difficult relationships – can make you fatigued, lack concentration and recover slowly from injuries or illness.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone. Surveys in the US claim that as many as 80% of Americans are suffering from stress caused by too much cortisol. But the secret isn’t to exterminate this stress hormone.
It’s to keep it balanced so you can use it to your advantage. Apply these tips and you’ll soon become calmer than a Hindu cow when the gloves are off and a raging bull when they’re on.
HIT THE SLEEP BUTTON
Stop for a moment and think about when you’re the most relaxed.
If you had to close your eyes, you’re on the right track. Sleep keeps your hormones in balance, so when you ignore it you become more stressed. Having four to six hours sleep a night, rather than a solid eight hours, increased cortisol levels by up to 48% for the entire next day, found research by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Trouble getting on the nod? Don’t wait for Antonio McKee's biography. Do three light weight lifting sessions each week.
This will improve your ability to drop off and sleep quality by 38%, found research in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. A small price for not having to sit through another late night Cops re-run.
GET OUTSIDE
Cut out the rattling of your treadmill and use nature’s equivalent: grass. Researchers at the University of Essex, UK, found that a mere five-minute canter in the open air drastically improves mood, self-esteem and reduces cortisol.
For the best results skip that run along the highway and hit a park to soak up the clean air, but take it easy.
Low intensity exercise elevates mood better than the medium to high intensity variety, found research at the University of Wisconsin.
If you’re stressed out you’ll benefit from a little slacking.
EAT YOURSELF RELAXED
Forget scoffing chill pills, here are the foods you need to feast away your worries.
1. Spinach, peppers, cauliflower, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, tomatoes.
These are rich in B vitamins that blunt the effects of your stress hormone, cortisol.
2. Oily fish and fish oils tablets.
A study in Diabetes and Metabolism found that those who took a fish oil supplement exhibited 20% lower cortisol levels during stress tests.
3. Banana
They are high in calm-and-sleep promoting hormone melatonin, which will help you relax. Snack on them before or after training or just before bedtime.
4. Peanut M&Ms
The chocolate triggers the release of feel-good serotonin while the nuts give you protein to keep you focused and even out your blood sugar. If you’re having a nightmare day that’s not an excuse to smash a whole a bag for lunch – you’re supposed to be a fighter.
GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME
Don’t waste your precious cortisol on cold callers. When you feel your fists clenching outside the gym of course do this mental relaxation drill from personal trainer and psychological sports coach Ross Chouler. Breathe all the way out until you have no air left in your lungs.
Breathe in all the way down past your belly button and imagine the air coming in as a sky blue color, filling your whole body.
Do three times, or five times a day. “This is proven to increase oxygen flow to all areas of your body, which decreases cortisol and leaves you feeling calmer,” says Chouler. “It can help lower cortisol before a fight so this hormone can be saved up to use when you need it most, like punching out of an armbar.”
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