Craving for salty and sugary foods
Adrenal fatigue leads to lower blood sugar levels. This increases cravings for energy foods. The patient takes lots of sugary foods to compensate. Some patients have salty food cravings. This is brought about by mineral fluctuations. Adrenal glands control the manner by which kidneys regulate minerals. When fatigued, more salt is released into the urine and has to be compensated by salt craving.
Excessive tiredness that cannot be explained
One wakes up very tired. The continued alertness makes it hard to sleep. The body’s cortisol levels are increased. Thus, one wakes up fatigued even with enough sleep.
Difficulty in handling stress
The body reacts to stressors by releasing stress hormones. This includes cortisol, adrenalin, and norepinephrine. However, with increased stress, the amounts of stress hormones produced in the body is reduced over time. This causes the body to become less prepared in handling stress.
Feeling a burst of energy in the evenings
A patient suffering from adrenal fatigue may spend the whole day feeling excessively fatigued once to experience bursts of energy in the evening. This is because the cortisol hormone reaches its peak in the morning and then goes down during the day. It may be very high at night making hard for one to fall asleep.
The adrenal glands does repair and regeneration between about 10pm and 2.00 am in the morning. If the person is awake, he or she may experience poor cardiac health and chronic fatigue.
Hormonal imbalance
Repeated daily stress has a cumulative effect on the body. As for the women, adrenal fatigue during the menopausal period is made worse by naturally low production of hormones like progesterone. Progesterone is broken into cortisol. When it is low, cortisol will also be low.
Increased risks of infections
Cortisol is an inflammatory hormone that regulates the functionality of the immune system. When it is produced for an extended periods, it affects the functioning of the immune system making it hard to fight infections. When the hormone levels go down after continued production, the immune system goes on a hyper-drive causing autoimmune disorders.
