Stress has been described as the body's reaction to feeling under pressure. Although it can drive us to perform better, it can also leave us feeling exhausted and overwhelmed.
When we're stressed, our body produces cortisol, which negatively affects and depletes vital hormones that promote wellbeing. With our stress blood test, we can identify and monitor your cortisol levels over time so that you can address potential adrenal gland disorders that hinder your mental and physical performance.
So if you’re feeling tired and stressed out, check your cortisol and testosterone levels.
WHAT WE MEASURE
Cortisol
Cortisol is a stress hormone that raises blood sugar levels (glucose), improves brain-glucose utilisation, and increases the availability of chemicals that repair the body's cells. However, when stressors are constantly stimulated and you feel 'under attack', your fight-or-flight response remains activated.
Did you know?
The activation of the stress response system over a significant period can affect nearly all of your body's systems, thus putting you at risk for a variety of health issues, including:
When cortisol levels are excessively high, your body constantly feels overstimulated and can hinder your body's capacity to absorb nutrients from meals. When cortisol levels are too low, it could mean that your adrenal glands are chronically depleted and fail to meet the demands of your body. As a result of this, you may feel tired all of the time, have a bad mood, are prone to sickness, have pain and inflammatory issues, and have trouble responding to regular stress.
Testosterone
It is famously known as the feel-good hormone. Testosterone plays a significant role in maintaining the strength and size of the muscles, improvement of sex drive and mood, enhancement of the energy levels, and sperm production in the body. The total testosterone test calculates the testosterone that is attached to proteins in the blood. Unfortunately, stress can cause lower testosterone levels and then turn into a vicious cycle; the lower testosterone level can cause stress, which can cause testosterone numbers to drop even lower.
While testosterone deficiency is typically considered to be a male problem, low levels can cause issues for women, too. Symptoms of low testosterone in women include hot flashes, irritability, loss of sex drive, and sleep disturbances. Women may also experience loss of muscle mass, decreased bone density, and loss of body hair.
In both sexes, low testosterone levels can have a profound impact on mood, so if you find it difficult to concentrate, and you’re tired and irritable, that might be the cause.
Optimise Your Stress levels in three easy steps
1 Measure
You won’t know if your stress levels just by thinking about it — it must be measured through your stress hormones.
2. Modify
Order: Choose the test service you would like. The sample collection kit typically arrives in 3 to 5 days.
Collect Sample: Follow the simple kit instructions to collect your blood sample from the comfort of home. Once you collect your sample, mail it back to our lab using the pre-paid envelope.
Get Results: In 2 to 3 days you will receive an email letting you know your personalised results are ready. You'll also get detailed advice with easy-to-understand graphics for your food, exercise, sleep, supplements, and much more. Take action and track your progress to take your health to new heights.