The hypothalamus is the part of our brain that regulates movement, thought, action and reaction, so, our emotions. It regulates our body temperature, our sex drive and pro-creation, feelings of hunger and thirst, sleeping rhythm, high/low bloodpressure, heartbeat and our hormones.
The hypothalamus takes care of the production of adrenaline when you feel threatened or scared and the hypothalamus drives your autonomous nervous system, without you even noticing it.
Physical complaints due to stress, occur when the hypothalamus is no longer able to regulate the stress hormone production by itself. Of course, other parts of the brain are also included, such as the amygdala. The amygdala signals possible dangers and sends a message to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus lets the body produce various stress hormones. This usually takes place within a fraction of a second, but the process can take longer as it should as well. The hypothalamus orders the body to make cortisol. When cortisol flows through your blood vessels for too long, it contributes to weight gain and constant cravings. Another stress hormone that is made in times of stress, is adrenaline. When adrenalin flows through your blood longterm, bloodvessels can get damaged and heart and vesselproblems might occur.
So, both hormones create undesirable effects in case of chronic stress. Our stress system is built only for shortterm. It is up to every individual to find a balance to prevent the hypothalamus from confusing our hormone balance. One way to deal with (longterm) stress, is movement. Movement burns adrenalin so to say. And certain food influences your hormones.
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