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              Dr. Paul J. Robinson DPR Logo Your Partner in Family Medicine

Specializing in Health, Wellness and Weight Loss

Neuroscience

Targeted Health Suggestions for Sleeplessness, Fatigue and Stress

Neuro Q logo

 

 Individual symptoms are as unique as you are.  Let's face it, stressors abound that impact our health and   energy level daily.  Take any one of the three surveys offered by Neuroscience to receive your science backed   results with suggestions for how you can best work with your symptoms.  

Dr. Robinson and his nutritionist are implementing the Neuro-Q survey style questionnaire that incorporates research-backed and validated survey questions to prioritize which biochemical pathways are most likely associated with symptoms you may be having that impacts your stress, anxiety, sleep and low energy levels.  Identifying symptoms, addressing them with Dr. Robinson or his staff nutritionist can help you make positive progress.  

Let us help you with the targeting science first with your individualized survey results.  We have 3 Surveys to choose from:

Fatigue  

Stress

Sleep

Once your questionnaire is completed then submit your information to our front desk or set up an appointment to go over your results with Karie, our staff nutritionist.  Dr. Robinson will be a part of your full care team as you meet with our Nutrition Services Department.  Our Front Desk telephone number is 510-886-5510 to book this appointment or to connect you with our nutritionist.

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Adrenal Fatigue is Real!

AdrenalfatigueR

Stress and Fatigue - The Adrenal Connection

Many have heard the term “adrenal fatigue” before but understanding the ebb and flow of the adrenal system can help identify if stress could be an underlying trigger to additional adrenal-related symptoms.


So, how do the adrenals work and how feelings of overstimulation lead to feelings of exhaustion and fatigue?
The adrenal glands are made of two layers, the outer cortex and inner medulla. Cortisol, a hormone released by the cortex, is used to trigger many biological pathways that impact things like blood sugar and the regulation of blood pressure. Cortisol is released in greater amounts in response to feelings of stress. The medulla produces adrenaline, otherwise known as the neurotransmitter epinephrine, which impacts a number of pathways in the body and helps provide efficient energy needed to react to stress. When consistent levels of stress stimulate the adrenals to produce ongoing levels of cortisol and adrenaline, or epinephrine, the demand on the body to provide biochemical precursors for ongoing adrenal activity is heightened.

Once a perceived threat or stress has passed, hormone and neurotransmitter levels should return to baseline. As adrenaline, or epinephrine, and cortisol levels drop, the heart rate and blood pressure stabilize, and other systems resume their regular activities. However, when one feels constant stress, the body is under a constant adrenal stimulation that can disrupt regular processes and result in uncomfortable symptoms

Common adrenal-related symptoms include a range from overstimulated to fatigue, poor mood, “brain fog”, food cravings, lead to overuse of stimulants like caffeine, impact the immune response, and lead to poor sleep and weight gain.

What causes adrenal-related symptoms?

The short answer is stress. Prolonged stress causes the adrenals to feel consistently engaged and stimulated, with increased demand on the body to fuel and react to the adrenal stress response. An ongoing adrenal stress response can impact levels of cortisol and epinephrine. The adrenal “fight or flight” response is hard wired in us, and the adrenal system responds to physical, dietary, environmental, or emotional stressors in similar fashion.

The adrenals are deeply involved with proper immune function, proper blood sugar and blood pressure balance, energy and focus as well as the wake-sleep cycle. There are thousands of cortisol receptors in every part of the brain, and they work in conjunction with each other and with the neurotransmitters.

How to support the adrenals and stress induced fatigue

Suggestions to support the body and adrenal system include lifestyle choices such as stress management activities, a healthy sleep schedule, low-sugar/low-caffeine diet, avoidance of junk food, and dietary supplementation that include ingredients such as:

  • Vitamin C
  • Magnesium
  • B vitamins
  • Coenzyme Q10
  • Ashwagandha
  • Rhodiola
  • Licorice Root

Support your adrenals so they can support you!   View the Neuroscience Based Fact Sheet to learn more.  Visit our Neuroscience Store for products that we carry to support your Neuro Health.

References:

  1. Sargis, Robert, MD, PhD, An Overview of the Adrenal Glands Beyond Fight or Flight, Remedy Health Media, LLC (https://www.endocrineweb.com/endocrinology/overview-adrenal-glands)
  2. Stress Management, Mayo Clinic (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037)
  3. Adrenal Glands, John Hopkins University (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/adrenal-glands)
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Brain Stress

Stress, Anxiousness, and the Brain Wave Connection

Stress and a feeling of anxiousness, for many people, are just an everyday part of life. Your body’s response to stress and anxiousness is designed to be temporary and infrequent, in fact it can actually be good for you to have short bursts of stress from time to time to actually increase brain function and create excitement. However, chronic stress on the brain can have a dramatic impact on your brain waves.

For people who suffer from chronic stress and anxiousness, they often find that it becomes very difficult to think positive or happy thoughts and they live in a constant state of worry and overthinking which can lead to development of physical symptoms like headaches. Their responses to stress and anxiousness become habitual to the brain and cause the brain to develop patterns. Often times, this can lead to the brain reducing its ability to calm itself in the usual manner.

How a healthy brain works.

Read more …Brain Stress

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