Fear Hormone: How Adrenaline Affects Our Body

What do you associate the word adrenaline with? Most likely, you will immediately think of any dangerous situation or threat. Likewise, people tend to associate adrenaline with active sports or reckless behavior. But what is this substance, and what effect does it have on people? Let’s start with some basic terminology. Adrenaline is a biologically active substance that your body uses when under stress. This is why you can feel a boost in your emotions or physical activity. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and get into the basic details.

What Is the Main Function of Adrenaline?

Our life is full of stress, to one degree or another. Various extreme factors are its cause, namely the neurohormonal response of our body to certain circumstances. For example, are you in pain, cold, sad, lonely? Or is an evil dog chasing you? Then you will surely experience stress and get a dose of adrenaline. This hormone, as a physiological response to stress, is constantly present in our bodies. But the level of adrenaline depends on the degree of physiological or emotional arousal.

The main task of this hormone is to mobilize all the forces of your body for self-defense. For instance, some people may jump over a very high fence, lift a heavy object, or feel no pain due to high hormone levels. Adrenaline mobilizes all the forces of the body for self-defense. For example, this hormone can block or numb pain from severe trauma, helping a person cope with the consequences for some time.

Fear Has Many Eyes

This proverb is directly related to adrenaline. The fact is that in a state of fear, our pupils dilate precisely because of this hormone. Adrenaline also speeds up the heart rate and slows down the digestive system. As a rule, the effect of the hormone on the body lasts for 5-10 minutes, after which inactivation occurs. Some students are very familiar with the effects of such a hormone, especially when they forget about their papers and try to find writing services like justdomyessay. Imagine the level of adrenaline a student can experience when seeking help from the wrong company. An ordinary person can experience a real fountain of emotions.

Adrenaline and Mood

How often do you feel tired, depressed, and in a bad mood? Chances are, sometimes you feel bad, but you think it’s because of the weather, a hard day, or a coincidence. But our body is heavily dependent on hormones, especially adrenaline. One of the regulators of our emotions is adrenaline. Each person has their specific scale of feelings; that is, everyone feels when and how much hormone they need. Depending on this, people behave in a certain way.

The prolonged absence of elevated levels of this hormone can lead to sadness or the first stages of physical depression. That is why many people are looking for vivid emotions in extreme sports and physical activity. For example, some beginners only need to run a couple of miles to experience an adrenaline rush. Other people come up with more extreme methods. For instance, some extreme lovers jump from a parachute, climb mountain peaks or swim deep underwater. This thrill can also have a downside in an increased risk of injury and psychological deviation.

Sources of Adrenaline

One of the main sources of this hormone is the chosen profession. That is why many people choose specific career options. For example, doctors, police officers, racers, firefighters, climbers, and divers are people who constantly need an adrenaline boost. Any profession that involves emotions, excitement, and important decisions can be a source of increased hormone levels.

Hit or Run

For a long time, scientists could not determine why this hormone accumulates in the adrenal glands. So what was the main reason for its formation in the human body? One of the most plausible theories was formulated by Walter Cannon back in the 40s of the last century. Our ancestors lived in a hostile world. Imagine a primitive man or woman who could fall prey to a predator at any moment.

It is the concept of “fight or flight” that most logically explains everything. This hormone can be compared to nitrous oxide, which can significantly increase the speed of a vehicle. Adrenaline helped speed up the reaction or increase physical performance for a short period so that the person could fight off an attack or escape.

Final Words

As you can see, this is one of the most important hormones that modern people inherited from their ancestors. Our life is full of dangers and unforeseen situations. It is the adrenaline that helps a person make decisions faster and act correctly in a stressful situation. Thanks to this, the hormones temporarily dull the pain of injuries and do not feel fatigued.

Moderate physical activity can help you feel energized. The main task of every person is not to succumb to the temptation to experience euphoria too often. Adrenaline addiction can be extremely detrimental. Don’t search for a dangerous new hobby in your lifestyle. Then adrenaline will help improve your physical condition.