What Is Adrenal Fatigue?
4. What Causes Adrenal Fatigue?
Most alternative health practitioners claim that adrenal fatigue is caused by certain lifestyle choices, including chronic stress, overuse of stimulants and alcohol, poor nutrition, lack of sleep, and either habitual over-exertion or lack of any exercise. For example, a hypothetical scenario of a person with adrenal fatigue would go something like this: wake up in the morning and drink several cups of coffee to get going; commute to a high-pressure job; skip lunch or eat fast food; drink alcohol or take sleeping pills to fall asleep; get up the next morning to do it all again.
The above behaviors collectively can cause the adrenal glands to secrete excessive amounts of cortisol and perhaps to make less aldosterone. Another possibility is that receptors in the body become less sensitive to epinephrine and norepinephrine, as has been shown to happen when taking methylphenidate (Ritalin), a stimulant medication used to treat ADHD.
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