Reduce stress, by chewing!
If you’ve got a stressful day ahead of you, then it’s likely that your levels of cortisol, also known as “the stress hormone, are higher than usual. One surprising way to reduce stress and higher-than-normal levels of cortisol, is by chewing.
It’s a uncertain exactly how it works but it does, as this 2009 study shows from Swinburne University, Melbourne. Forbes.com also published this in-depth article and it’s an area of continued study.
Cortisol is slower acting than adrenalin, it temporarily diverts energy away from non-crucial systems like your sex drive, immune system and digestion to help you to deal with your current situation.
So just a small thing like chewing gum will help take the edge off that wired feeling before a job interview, public speaking or dealing with conflict!
Cortisol is not our enemy
Cortisol builds up overnight as we sleep and helps to get us out of bed in the morning! But if you find that your general day-to-day mode is stressed out, then you’ll need a longer term strategy to get your cortisol levels back under control.
