Adrenaline is probably the best-known hormone and neurotransmitter. The substance is quickly associated with stress. In addition to adrenaline, there is also the lesser-known noradrenaline.
What is the difference here and how do the hormones work in your body?
And what role does the stress hormone cortisol play in this context? We'll answer these questions and reveal the positive properties of adrenaline and how you can use them to your advantage.
Table of contents
1. What is adrenaline and how is it different from noradrenaline?
Adrenaline is the short-term stress hormone that activates you and helps you concentrate . Adrenaline's original purpose was to prepare you for fight or flight in dangerous situations .
Fortunately, today we find ourselves in dangerous situations less frequently than in the Stone Age. However, even demanding and stressful situations at work or during sports are often accompanied by a need for action that quickly activates us and demands a lot from us.
On a biochemical level, little has changed for millennia : adrenaline is still the most important hormone when it comes to short-term activation . When adrenaline is released, all of your body's reserves are mobilized, and you're simply awake and fully present.
Adrenaline's other active ingredient is noradrenaline . This is the actual neurotransmitter produced in the central nervous system and triggers the subsequent chain reaction in your brain .
Adrenaline is also an important activator in sports , as it ensures , for example, that your muscles are supplied with energy in the form of glucose . In the past, this was primarily important for preparing for physically dangerous situations.
Today, this positive effect of adrenaline is used to enhance athletic performance. You also feel adrenaline in your body, for example, when you bungee jump or ride a roller coaster.
It's an energizing and positive feeling , to which people can even become addicted. Ever heard of adrenaline junkies?
Take-Home Message #1: Adrenaline and noradrenaline are the two stress hormones released briefly in stressful situations, which trigger a series of stress reactions in your body.
To truly understand adrenaline, it's important to understand how stress develops on a neuronal and biochemical level . When you find yourself in a challenging situation, your brain decides whether or not a threat exists.
Noradrenaline is produced in the locus coeruleus (blue nucleus) in your brain, which in turn activates the sympathetic nervous system – the part of your brain responsible for stress.
This causes your breathing and pulse to noticeably increase. Your blood pressure rises and your heart beats significantly faster , allowing more blood to circulate through your body and brain.
This primarily results in improved oxygen supply . This is especially important for the brain, as it makes you more alert and better able to perform .
Simply put: Your circulation revs up. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system, in turn, activates the adrenal medulla , which ultimately leads to the release of adrenaline .
It sounds like a lengthy process, but the opposite is true. This type of adrenaline activation happens very quickly when your brain signals stress. This is absolutely necessary, because this mode is called "ready for fight or flight." Translated, this means that your brain is preparing you for fight or flight.
Two things can happen afterward. Either the stress decreases , which leads to a decrease in sympathetic activation and the adrenaline-induced stress response ends. However, if your brain doesn't clearly decide that the stress is over , it continues to release noradrenaline at a steady rate .
Now things get exciting, because a third hormone and neurotransmitter comes into play , which plays a particularly important role in long-term stress : cortisol .
Take-Home Message #2: Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter that activates your sympathetic nervous system in stressful situations. This, in turn, causes the release of adrenaline. Your entire circulation, heart rate, and breathing are activated by these two hormones/neurotransmitters—in a very short time!
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2. The benefits of adrenaline
Many people who take care of their own stress management believe that lowering adrenaline is the way to go. However, adrenaline is not the culprit; in fact, it has numerous benefits .
First, it's important to understand an important distinction : short-term, positive stress , which causes the release of adrenaline, and long-term stress , which releases cortisol .
Adrenaline, which activates us in the short term, has numerous positive effects . Perhaps the most important benefit is that it makes us productive, alert, and active .
As a study by the Faculty of Medicine at Philipps University of Marburg showed, adrenaline could increase memory performance in students who had to memorize something in a short period of time.[1] The students who were activated by the adrenaline were able to remember more than their fellow students.
Another benefit of adrenaline is the positive feeling it brings. Once a challenging situation is successfully mastered, the body releases dopamine , one of your happy hormones and neurotransmitters that makes you feel good.
There's a reason they call it "adrenaline junkies," because the positive feelings are actually addictive! Your body remembers this exact feeling and wants it again and again.
This creates the addictive effect so typical of adrenaline junkies. Thus, short-term adrenaline kicks not only make you alert and happy, but also improve your mental performance in the short term!
The benefits of adrenaline at a glance
1. increases mental and physical performance
2. improves memory
3. provides a positive emotional boost"
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3. The interaction of adrenaline and cortisol
As already described, your body reacts to different stress situations by releasing different hormones. Cortisol is your more long-term stress hormone , which ensures that you can perform well over a longer period of time .
Cortisol is released when the demands on your performance persist. Your brain signals a constant release of glutamate , which switches from adrenaline to cortisol .
This process takes place after just 10–15 minutes. Cortisol prepares you for a long period of time in which you will be in a state of emergency.
Since you need more energy under stress , which can then be made available to your brain, savings are inevitably made elsewhere.
This is certainly a negative effect of cortisol, but it's also important to remember that cortisol generally has a positive function. It makes you active for longer periods of time and provides you with energy.
It only becomes problematic when you're in this state of stress for a longer period of time, i.e., when the stress becomes chronic . This is when important functions of your body begin to suffer.
The main problem is that this chronic state of stress requires a lot of energy. On a physical level, your immune system is particularly affected.
Cortisol has the effect of draining a lot of your energy, but it also has anti-inflammatory effects. As a result, chronically stressed people become ill as soon as they relax and the cortisol is broken down .
The long-term stress hormone also causes cognitive damage . A study by the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University found that the hormone damages certain areas of the hippocampus. [2]
This area of the brain is primarily responsible for memory and learning processes . The nerve cells in the brain simply become overloaded and age prematurely. However, this negative effect is not seen with the short-term production of adrenaline.
Another negative effect of cortisol, compared to adrenaline, is that it causes sleep problems . This long-term stress hormone inhibits the production of melatonin , putting you in a constant state of alert. Not the ideal conditions for a restful night.
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4. Conclusion
In summary, stress and the associated reactions are not negative, but one must differentiate. Once stress becomes chronic and is no longer just a short-term release of adrenaline, and cortisol predominates, it has numerous negative effects.
Do you feel chronically stressed and are looking for ways to lower your cortisol levels? There are actually numerous options, from meditation to exercise to proper nutrition.
If you want to learn more about it, you can read everything you need to know in this article on lowering cortisol !
The negative effects of cortisol
1. suppresses melatonin → difficulty falling asleep
2. takes a lot of energy → exhaustion
3. weakens the immune system → possible infections
4. changes the brain structure → difficulty concentrating
5. Sources
[1] http://d-nb.info/1027184138/34
[2] http://www.jneurosci.org/content/10/9/2897.short
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