THE CORTISOL CONNECTION

Is it possible to undo the ravages of stress while living in a fast-paced world? We dive into how our levels of cortisol - our body's primary stress hormone - can be regulated, and ways to manage its effects.

- Syed Zulfadhli

There's been plenty of debate online about the recent findings of the 2024 World Happiness Report in March, which ranked Singapore the happiest country in Asia. The United Nations-backed report which surveys about 1,000 individuals per country - placed the Lion City at the 30th spot among a total of 143 nations globally, down five spots from 25th place in 2023.

In a similar vein, a 2022 mental health and wellness survey conducted by Rakuten Insight in Singapore revealed that 59 per cent of respondents aged between 24 and 34, and 52 per cent of respondents aged between 35 and 44, indicated higher levels of stress or anxiety in the past 12 months.

It looks like we are one stressed out nation, which begs the question: What are the harmful effects of being chronically wired and tired? And is it possible to undo all the damage caused to our physical and mental health?

WHAT IS CORTISOL AND HOW DOES IT AFFECT US?

First, we need to get acquainted with cortisol, a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands that is often referred to as the body's primary stress hormone.

Dr Andrew Fang, family physician at Doctor Anywhere, shares that cortisol plays an important role in orchestrating numerous bodily processes, such as managing our stress response, controlling blood sugar and blood pressure levels, and even regulating our circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). "Cortisol production is regulated by a complex system known as the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis," explains Dr Fang. "On a regular day, the HPA axis maintains cortisol levels to carry out normal bodily processes."

For many of us, the stressors of daily life can be hard to predict. Is there anything can we do about it then?

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