If you’ve ever felt constantly “wired but tired,” struggled to switch off at night, or noticed that stress hits you harder than it used to, your adrenal glands may be working overtime.

Today glorifies hustle, productivity, and being constantly available so many women are unknowingly pushing their stress response system to its limits. Understanding your adrenal glands – and how to support them – can be a powerful step toward better energy, mood, hormone balance, and overall wellbeing.

What are the Adrenal Glands?

Your adrenal glands are two small, triangle-shaped glands that sit on top of your kidneys. Despite their size, they play a major role in how your body responds to stress.

Their main job is to produce hormones, including:

• Cortisol – your primary stress hormone

• Adrenaline (epinephrine) – responsible for the fight-or-flight response

• Aldosterone – helps regulate blood pressure and fluid balance

• Small amounts of sex hormones (like estrogen and testosterone)

Together, these hormones help your body respond to stress, regulate energy levels, maintain blood pressure, and support metabolism.

Why are our Adrenals so overworked?

Stress today isn’t just big life events. It’s constant, low-grade pressure that never really switches off.

Common adrenal stressors include chronic emotional or mental stress, poor sleep or irregular sleep schedules, over-exercising or under-recovering, under-eating or restrictive dieting, excess caffeine or sugar reliance and inflammation, illness, or hormone imbalances

Your body doesn’t differentiate between “real” danger and modern stress like deadlines, traffic, financial worry, or emotional overwhelm. Each stress signal triggers cortisol production – and over time, this constant demand can lead to dysregulation.

Signs your Adrenals may be struggling

While “adrenal fatigue” isn’t a formal medical diagnosis, many women experience symptoms linked to chronic stress and cortisol imbalance.

If you are feeling persistent fatigue (especially in the mornings), feeling wired at night but exhausted during the day, cravings for salty or sugary foods, difficulty handling stress or feeling easily overwhelmed, brain fog or poor concentration, hormonal symptoms such as irregular cycles or PMS and frequent illness or slow recovery – you might want to have your Adrenal Glands checked out.

If these symptoms are ongoing or severe, it’s important to work with a healthcare professional to rule out other conditions.

How to support your Adrenal Glands (gently)

Supporting your adrenals isn’t about doing more – it’s about doing less, better.

1. Prioritise restful sleep

Sleep is non-negotiable for adrenal health. Aim for consistent bed and wake times, reduced screen exposure at night and a calming wind-down routine (reading, stretching, journaling)

Even small improvements in sleep quality can significantly lower cortisol levels.

2. Eat to stabilise blood sugar

Skipping meals or under-eating places extra stress on your adrenals. Rather focus on regular meals with protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs, avoiding long fasting periods when stressed and minimising blood sugar spikes from refined sugars

Balanced blood sugar = calmer stress hormones.

3. Rethink your relationship with exercise

Movement should support your nervous system, not punish it.

Supportive forms include:

• Walking
• Pilates or yoga
• Strength training with adequate rest
• Low-intensity cardio

If you’re constantly exhausted, reduce high-intensity workouts temporarily and prioritise recovery.

4. Reduce stimulant dependence

Caffeine forces cortisol production, especially when consumed on an empty stomach. Delaying coffee until after breakfast and reducing total caffeine intake to swapping one coffee for herbal tea or matcha could be the simple shift that can ease adrenal strain significantly.

5. Manage stress proactively (Not perfectly)

You don’t need to eliminate stress because that’s not possible for most, however, you can regulate your response to it.

Helpful tools include breathwork or meditation, nervous-system-supporting practices like grounding or nature walks, boundaries around work and emotional labour and saying no without over-explaining

Calm is a skill you can practise.

6. Support with nutrients

Adrenal glands rely on key nutrients, including:

• Vitamin C
• B-vitamins (especially B5)
• Magnesium
• Sodium (especially if you crave salt)

Whole foods, not extreme restriction, are foundational here.

Soft health over survival mode

Supporting your adrenal glands isn’t about “fixing” your body – it’s about listening to it.

When you choose rest, nourishment, and gentler routines, you’re telling your nervous system that it’s safe. Over time, this safety allows your hormones, energy, and mood to stabilise naturally.

In 2026, wellness is no longer about pushing harder. It’s about creating a life where your body doesn’t have to constantly brace for impact.

Your adrenals don’t need discipline – they need support.

ALSO SEE:

How to reset your sleep schedule before work and school resumes

Featured Image: DupePhoto