Category: Health

Older adults who regularly spend time with family and friends may have bigger brains to show for it, a new study suggests.

Healthy brain aging is a complex matter, and researchers are still trying to understand which factors keep the mind sharp and which ones feed declines in memory and thinking.

But a number of studies have suggested that social life matters. Social stimulation is thought to help support mental acuity; on the other hand, social isolation in the golden years has been linked to an increased risk of dementia.

Exactly why, though, is unclear.

So for the new study, researchers led by Dr. Toshiharu Ninomiya, of Kyushu University in Japan, asked a different question: Is social isolation connected to older adults’ brain volume?

The brain naturally “shrinks” to a degree as people age, reflecting the loss of nerve cells and their connections. But that tissue loss is accelerated during the dementia process.

Paying attention to stressful thoughts may help you reduce them.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction is a strategy that involves becoming more self-aware of stress-provoking thoughts, accepting them without judgment or resistance, and allowing yourself the ability to process them (23Trusted Source).

Training yourself to be aware of your thoughts, breathing, heart rate, and other signs of tension helps you recognize stress when it begins (23Trusted Source).

By focusing on awareness of your mental and physical state, you can become an objective observer of your stressful thoughts, instead of a victim of them (24Trusted Source).

Recognizing stressful thoughts allows you to formulate a conscious and deliberate reaction to them. For example, a study involving 43 women in a mindfulness-based program showed the ability to describe and articulate stress was linked to a lower cortisol response (25Trusted Source).

Other studies have also shown lowered cortisol levels after regularly practicing mindfulness (26Trusted Source, 27Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).

Therefore, try adding mindfulness-based practice to your daily routine for better stress management and reduced cortisol levels.

SUMMARYPracticing mindfulness can help you identify stressful thoughts and better manage them. Mindfulness-based practices such as meditation may help you reduce stress and lead to lower cortisol levels.

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Depending on the intensity of exercise, it can increase or decrease cortisol.

Intense exercise increases cortisol shortly afterward but will decrease a few hours later. This short-term increase helps coordinate growth of the body to meet the challenge. Additionally, the size of the cortisol response lessens with routine training (19Trusted Source).

Regular exercise has been shown in numerous studies to help improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and improve overall health, which can help lower cortisol over time (20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).

Interestingly, regular exercise has also been associated with greater resilience to acute stress and may lower negative health effects associated with stress, such as high cortisol (20Trusted Source).

That said, overdoing it can have the opposite effect. Therefore, aim for around 150–200 minutes of mostly low- to moderate-intensity exercise each week and allow yourself time to rest between workouts.

SUMMARYExercising regularly can help you better manage stress and promote good health, which may help lower cortisol levels. That said, avoid overdoing it and aim for around 150–200 minutes of low- to moderate- intensity exercise each week.

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Prioritizing your sleep may be an effective way to reduce cortisol levels. Chronic sleep issues such as obstructive sleep apnea, insomnia, or shift work have been associated with higher cortisol (8Trusted Source).

One review of 28 studies in shift workers found that cortisol levels were higher in workers who slept during the day (night shift workers) rather than at night (day shift workers) (9Trusted Source).

Those on rotating shifts have been linked with poorer health outcomes, such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and worsened mental health (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source).

Further, insomnia is a sleep condition that refers to difficulty sleeping. It can be caused by many things, including stress and obstructive sleep apnea. This can result in increased circulating cortisol which affects your daily hormone patterns, energy levels, and other facets of health (8Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).

If you are a night shift or rotating shift worker, you do not have complete control over your sleep schedule, but there are some things you can do to optimize sleep (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source):

• Have a bedtime routine. Establishing a consistent bedtime routine (e.g., shower, read a book, etc.) can tell your brain and body to start winding down for the night.
• Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. A regular sleep schedule has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to improve sleep.
• Exercise earlier in the day. Exercising regularly can improve sleep quality but should be done at least 2–3 hours before bedtime.
• Limit caffeine intake. Try to stop consuming caffeine-containing food and drinks around 6 hours before your bedtime.
• Avoid nicotine and alcohol. Both substances can affect sleep quality and duration.
• Limit exposure to bright light at night. Around 45–60 minutes before sleep, reduce your exposure to bright and/or blue light. Instead of reaching for your phone in bed, try reading a book or listening to a podcast.
• Go to bed in a quiet room. Limit interruptions by using white noise, ear plugs, and silencing your phone.
• Take naps. If shift work cuts your sleep hours short, napping can reduce sleepiness and prevent a sleep deficit. That said, napping may worsen sleep quality in non-shift workers.

SUMMARYPracticing good sleep hygiene can help to keep cortisol in a normal rhythm. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule, avoiding caffeine 6 hours before bed, and staying off your cell phone right before bed are effective strategies.

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Over the last 20 years, studies have increasingly revealed that moderate to high cortisol levels may lead to an array of health issues, such as (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source):

• Chronic disease. Long-term increased cortisol may increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and other chronic diseases.
• Weight gain. Cortisol may increase appetite and signal the body to shift metabolism to store fat.
• Lack of energy/difficulty sleeping. It can interfere with sleep hormones which may impact sleep quality and length.
• Difficulty concentrating. Also referred to as “brain fog,” some people report trouble focusing and lack of mental clarity.
• Impaired immune system. Increased cortisol can hamper the immune system, making it more difficult to fight infections.
• Cushing’s syndrome. In rare cases, very high cortisol levels can lead to Cushing’s syndrome, a rare but serious disease.

Elevated cortisol levels can be caused from many underlying issues such as overactivity or cancer of the pituitary or adrenal glands, chronic stress, and medication side effects (e.g., prednisone, hormonal therapy) (7Trusted Source).

Further, existing chronic disease (e.g., obesity) may lead to higher cortisol levels, causing a “chicken or the egg” type of scenario (7Trusted Source).

Therefore, it’s best to work with a qualified health professional to establish the root cause of your health issues. Along with this, you may want to introduce some effective lifestyle habits that may help you better manage your cortisol levels. Here are some recommendations:

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Cortisol is a stress hormone the adrenal glands release. It helps your body deal with stressful situations, as your brain triggers its release through the sympathetic nervous system — the “fight or flight” system — in response to many different kinds of stress (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).

While the short-term release of cortisol can help you run quickly from danger, when cortisol levels are too high for too long, this hormone can hurt you more than it helps (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).

Over time, this can lead to an array of health issues such as weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, insomnia or difficulty sleeping, mood irregularities, and low energy levels (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).

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