You Can Think Your Way To Better Hormones

Carl Lowe | Apr 01, 2013 | Comments 0 | 

Cortisol, a stress hormone secreted by the adrenal gland, can hamper your immune system, hinder your memory and even reduce the strength of your bones if your body produces too much for too long. But researchers have found you can think your way to a lower cortisol level.

The trick is to indulge in a practice called “mindfulness.” If you can focus on the present rather than letting the mind drift, your cortisol level will drop, according to research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis.

“This is the first study to show a direct relation between resting cortisol and scores on any type of mindfulness scale,” says Tonya Jacobs, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California Davis Center for Mind and Brain.

According to Jacobs, training the mind to focus on immediate experience may reduce your tendency to obsess about past mistakes or worry about the future, thought processes that are linked to cortisol release.

“The idea that we can train our minds in a way that fosters healthy mental habits and that these habits may be reflected in mind-body relations is not new; it’s been around for thousands of years across various cultures and ideologies,” Jacobs says. “However, this idea is just beginning to be integrated into Western medicine as objective evidence accumulates. Hopefully, studies like this one will contribute to that effort.”