The amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for emotional processing, sends a signal to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that acts like a control centre for the body’s nervous system. This kickstarts the sympathetic nervous system – our fight or flight response – into action, which then prompts the release of adrenaline, sending extra blood to our muscles and priming our senses and our immune system to be ready to deal with potential injury. At the same time, the pathway between the brain and adrenal glands (the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis) is activated and prompts the secretion of another stress hormone, cortisol. It’s cortisol which plays an important role in the stress response because it increases energy, enables tissue repair and curbs functions that are considered non-essential. And it’s having a bigger impact on our skin than we might realise.
More than 78 per cent of UK adults have experienced stress this year because of the pandemic. Stress is the body’s natural response to perceived threat, whether that’s being chased by a lion (in the olden days), or wrestling with looming deadlines. At the first sign of threat, the body’s carefully orchestrated stress response immediately switches on.
As part of our normal diurnal rhythm, cortisol levels rise naturally in the morning and are at their highest at around 7am. Under normal circumstances these levels then begin to drop, reaching an all-time low in the evening as we prepare to sleep. The problems arise when we experience chronic low-level stress, whether it’s caused by money worries, an overactive inbox or health issues, because our stress response stays activated. Being in this constant state of high alert can quickly have a detrimental effect on several functions, including our sleep, diet and our skin.
Our bodies are designed for major stresses; we can cope with them, the flood of hormones and the repair that is required when the stress goes away.However, we are living in a time of always being on and [so face] constant micro doses on a daily level. The response [to it] is the same as [that to] the intense stress of a major event, and this constant exposure to cortisol in the system impacts other systems within the body.
