Your adrenal glands have two main functions. One of these is to help your body get going for the day. This involves changing from sleep functions to active functions that your body needs when it is awake. The other main function of the adrenal glands is to help your body deal with stress.

The outer part of the adrenals is identified as the adrenal cortex. It functions to create a hormone called cortisol. The adrenals release the highest level of this hormone early within the morning and the lowest amount late into the evening. Our bodies function to get rid of harmful toxins and repair our immune systems when we sleep. The adrenals aid to move us in and out of this state. When morning comes, our bodies release a lot more cortisol, which turns on our energy for the day and signals our sleep related immune repair to turn off.

For those who get tired early in the day and crash, this is a most probable sign of adrenal fatigue. The inner portion of the adrenal glands function to assist our bodies in coping with pressure. Folks face complicated conditions in their lives that are stressful to the body. Our body's adrenal glands function to assist the body to handle this pressure.

The adrenals prepare the body to be in a position to withstand injury from emotional or mental stress or physical stress like running from a lion. As the adrenals respond, the body responds with higher blood pressure and also a higher heart rate that is named a fight or flight response. This increase in blood pressure provides needed energy to the muscles to help get out of a stressful sitation like running from a lion. This response happens when the adrenal glands release epinephrine which is commonly named adrenaline. The more anxiety we have, the more epinephrine is released into our blood response escalating our heart rate.

Should you have ongoing stress for long periods of time, your adrenals work harder and create cortisol to help the body deal with the ongoing stress. At some point your adrenals are no longer able to keep up and your body suffers. Your body will then experience fatigue and exhaustion. As the trouble continues, the body often experiences aches and pains, allergy problems and problems with the immune system.

A variety of supplements have been found to support the adrenal glands to help your body deal with stress and prevent these types of problems. A few of these include vitamin C, vitamin B complex and pantethine which is a stress helper. Consulting with a competent health care provider can help you to know what is most effective.