Reducing Cortisol Improves Anxiety

by Nina

New Leaves in the Desert by Melina Meza

Have you noticed that whenever we talk about the dangers of chronic stress (see About Stress: Acute vs. Chronic), we always mention anxiety? That’s because anxiety is basically on every doctor’s list as one of the potential problems that can result from ongoing stress. And my personal experience has been that anxiety is the first problem I start to suffer from when I go through a period of chronic stress. That is why I personally value yoga’s stress management tools so much; I’ve learned how much better my life is if I can nip those stress levels in the bud before my emotions get out of control. 

But even though I knew that chronic stress could cause anxiety, I didn’t really know exactly why. You know me—I always want to know why—when it’s possible to know why—so I was very interested to read this paper about anxiety and cortisol levels Elevated cortisol in older adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder is reduced by treatment: a placebo-controlled evaluation of escitalopram. Even though this paper had nothing to do with yoga (the scientists were using a drug to reduce cortisol levels in older people with anxiety), I was interested to learn that older adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder have higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The paper put it this way:

“Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is a common and impairing anxiety disorder in older adults, and it has been associated with elevated cortisol in this age group.”

And the paper also said that the experiment they did with reducing cortisol levels in this group helped improve the anxiety!

"Compared with placebo-treated subjects, SSRI-treated subjects had a significantly greater reduction in both peak and total cortisol. This reduction in cortisol was limited to subjects with elevated (above the median) baseline cortisol, in whom SSRI-treated subjects showed substantially greater reduction in cortisol than did placebo-treated subjects. Reductions in cortisol were associated with improvements in anxiety."

In the past, we’ve talked about cortisol in the past in terms of inflammation and celluar stress (Reducing Cellular Stress with Yoga and Cortisol, Stress and Yoga) as well as stress eating (see Yoga, Stress and Weight Management and Stress Eating and the Healthy Eating Meditation Practice), but we’ve never addressed its effects on our emotions. In my post Stress and Your Thought-Behavior Repertoire, I talked about how while you’re in stress mode, your thoughts are restricted to Fight or Flight options. Now it seems possible elevated cortisol levels might be to blame for this and/or for raising levels of anxiety or worry in general.

The paper also said that older adults in general have a harder time with elevated cortisol as, “aging increases vulnerability to adverse effects of elevated cortisol, because compensatory mechanisms preventing its deleterious effects are diminished.” It also mentioned that that chronic over-activation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis causes wear and tear to the brain and body via toxic effects of elevated cortisol levels.

So, the bottom line is that elevated cortisol levels in older adults is particularly dangerous, potentially causing Generalized Anxiety Disorder as well as other diseases and physical problems. But although the researchers of this paper used medication to lower cortisol levels, this may not be the only way to do lower them. If you’re feeling well enough to forgo medication (and your doctor agrees with you about this) or if you just want to practice to prevent future problems with anxiety, you can use yoga to lower your cortisol levels. 

Reducing Anxiety with Yoga

I’ve done several posts in the past about how to use yoga to reduce anxiety (see 10 Ways to Soothe Anxiety with Yoga and Yoga Solutions for Anxiety). But it’s worth emphasizing here that some of the techniques we recommend for stress management in general, including meditation and restorative yoga, might not work well for anxiety. That’s because it’s very hard for many anxious people to lie or sit still, as they tend to become even more anxious if they are alone with their thoughts. See When Relaxing Isn't Relaxing.

On the other hand, while an active yoga practice can engage your mind and distract you from your worries (a welcome relief!) it is not necessarily going to lower your cortisol levels. An active practice is generally more stimulating than relaxing, although it is useful for tiring you out (plus, everyone needs exercise).

So, if you’re someone who has trouble lying still due to anxious thoughts, who feels generally hyper (I know that feeling!), or who has been sitting all day for work and needs to move, I recommend starting with an active practice, such as Featured Sequence: Lower Body Strength or Upper Body Strength. Then, after you’ve released some of your excess energy, try practicing one or more supported inverted poses. Because the Relaxation response is triggered by your physical position, supported inverted poses don’t require a mental focus (see Why You Should Love Your Baroreceptors). So you can keep your eyes open and even listen to music while you are practicing them and you’ll still quiet your nervous system. Of course, as with any pose, if you feel bad in an inverted pose, come out of the pose immediately. See All About Supported Inverted Poses to find a supported inverted pose that's right for you.

See When Relaxing Isn't Relaxing for more suggestions for what to do when anxiety means that relaxing isn’t relaxing. Of course, if you’re not experiencing anxiety and are comfortable with other forms of stress management, continue to practice the way you enjoy it the most (see The Relaxation Response and Yoga). Keeping cortisol levels low may very well help prevent problems such as anxiety from occurring or re-occurring in your future.

Subscribe to Yoga for Healthy Aging by Email ° Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° Join this site with Google Friend Connect