The relationship between stress and hormonal balance is easiest to understand when you think about what our stress response was designed to do in the first place.

While nowadays we might get stressed over a big presentation at work or the number of chores we’ve got to do, our stress response was originally designed to deal with life-threatening dangers such as predators or natural disasters. In these scenarios, our bodies needed to find a way to make parts of our body work harder to escape the danger – and that’s where the stress response comes in.

“When the body is focused on survival – whether that’s related to real or perceived threats – our adrenal glands trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which rev up the body’s heart rate, increase glucose in the bloodstream and send blood to areas that need it most in an emergency situation, such as the heart and muscles,” explains Dr Haleema Sheikh, a GP and women’s health expert from The Marion Gluck Clinic. This diversion of resources leads to other systems in the body becoming deprioritised, such as our digestive system and immune response.

Our hormones are also affected due to this lack of resources. “Our reproductive hormones are made from the same precursor as cortisol – cholesterol – and the body will prioritise the production of cortisol when we’re stressed,” Dr Sheikh continues. “Thus, in times of prolonged stress, there may not be enough raw material to make adequate reproductive hormones.”

All the ways that stress can mess with your hormones – and how to deal with it