Exercise, Cortisol, and Hypercortisolemia

Sports Science research shows that one of the effects of cardiovascular exercise is a significant rise in saliva cortisol levels. For example, Rudolph and McAuley (1998)show cortisol levels rising during a 30 minute treadmill exercise and staying up until 30 minutes afterword.

In addition, Kon et al (2009)research showed this effect is related to the "huffing and puffing" effect since resistance exercise didn't raise cortisol levels unless it occurred in less then normal (hypoxia)oxygen levels.

There is an added problem for someone with hypercortisemia due to a lack of adequate cortisol receptor feedback control. Post exercise high levels of cortisol (hyperpercortisol) don't come down the way they do in normal people. They stay up for prolonged periods of time.

Rudolph and McAuley (1998)show an additional connection that shows up in much of Psychoneuroendcriology research. Psychoneuroendcriology research shows high levels of cortisol are related to negative affect. Going beyond that,other Psychoneuroendcriology research, relate high levels of cortisol that stay up for prolonged periods of time with severe periods of depression and bipolar depression.

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SELECTED RESEARCH EXCERPTS AND COMMENTS
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J Sports Sci. 1998 Feb;16(2):121-8.
Cortisol and affective responses to exercise.
Rudolph DL, McAuley E.
Department of Sport and Exercise Science, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 27412, USA.

It has been reported that physically active individuals demonstrate attenuated cortisol responses to acute exercise compared to inactive individuals. Furthermore, a number of studies have demonstrated that increased cortisol levels are associated with negative affective states. Conversely, low cortisol levels have been demonstrated to be related to positive psychological constructs such as self-efficacy. However, the roles of activity history and adrenocortical activity in affective responses to acute exercise have not been examined. We therefore compared salivary cortisol, perceived exertion and affective responses to acute exercise in 13 male cross-country runners and 13 non-runners. The experimental trial consisted of a 30 min treadmill run at 60% VO2 max. Cortisol and affective responses were assessed before, during and after exercise; ratings of perceived exertion (RPEs) were recorded during exercise. Analyses of variance indicated no significant group differences in cortisol responses. However, there was a main effect for time (P< 0.05), with cortisol increasing from baseline to the 29th minute of exercise and then decreasing to 30 min post-exercise. Non-runners possessed greater perceptions of effort and negative affect during exercise compared to cross-country runners. Furthermore, the RPEs were positively related to post-exercise cortisol levels (P< 0.05), and affect and cortisol responses were inversely related 30 min post-exercise (P< 0.05). These results provide partial support for the hypothesis that cortisol levels are related to exercise-induced affective states.

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....Many studies have shown that high levels of plasma
and salivary cortisol are associated with negative
psychological states such as depression, dysphoric
mood and panic disorder (Gold et al., 1986; O’Connor
et al., 1989; Lopez et al., 1990).


...The exploratory nature of the present study should
be emphasized, as many competing explanations are
tenable for the positive results linking cortisol and
exercise-induced affect. Despite the cross-sectional
design of the study, these preliminary findings suggest
that physical activity history and adrenocortical activity
play a role in affective responses to acute exercise.

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Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Dec 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Effects of Acute Hypoxia on Metabolic and Hormonal Responses to Resistance Exercise.

Kon M, Ikeda T, Homma T, Akimoto T, Suzuki Y, Kawahara T.

1Department of Sports Sciences, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita, Tokyo, 115-0056, Japan; 2Laboratory of Regenerative Medical Engineering, Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.

INTRODUCTION:: Several recent studies have shown that resistance exercise combined with vascular occlusion effectively causes increases in muscular size and strength. Researchers speculated that the vascular occlusion-induced local hypoxia may contribute to the adaptations via promoting anabolic hormone secretions stimulated by local accumulation of metabolic subproducts. Here we examined whether acute systemic hypoxia affects metabolic and hormonal responses to resistance exercise. METHODS:: Twelve male subjects participated in two experimental trials: 1) resistance exercise while breathing normoxic air [normoxic resistance exercise (NR)], 2) resistance exercise while breathing 13 % oxygen [hypoxic resistance exercise (HR)]. The resistance exercises (bench-press and leg-press) consisted of 10 repetitions for five sets at 70 % of maximum strength with 1-min rest between sets. Blood lactate, serum growth hormone (GH), epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), testosterone, and cortisol concentrations were
measured before normoxia and hypoxia exposures, 15-min after the exposures, and at 0, 15, 30, 60 min after the exercises. RESULTS:: Lactate significantly increased after exercises in both trials (p < 0.05). In the HR trial, GH and cortisol significantly increased after the exercise (p < 0.05), but not in the NR trial. The E, NE, IGF-1, and testosterone significantly increased after the exercises in both trials (p < 0.05). The mean values of lactate, GH, E, and NE after exercises were significantly higher in the HR trial than that in the NR trial (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS:: These findings suggest that resistance exercise in hypoxic condition caused greater accumulation of metabolites, and strong anabolic hormone response.

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My interest in this research result was that resistance exercise in a normal oxygen condition does not significantly raise cortisol during or after training. This makes it a useful in designing an adaptive, modified exercise program. That would particularly apply to those with hypercortisolemia.