Sophrosyne newsletter

F*ck Chronic Stress - Finding Calm Amidst the Chaos

Chronic Stress, The Zeitgeist Of Modernity

Today, I will be explaining to you the dangers of chronic stress, and how to rapidly offset it with air-tight, proven tactics.

I’ve gone down a stress mitigation rabbit hole recently because I got my bloods done a few weeks ago.

My Cortisol (stress hormone) was in the ‘normal’ range, but it was on the higher end as you can see below.

I am aiming to get this back down to sub 350nmol/L in my next test.

This newsletter is extremely relevant to you because we live in a hyperconnected, digital age where the zeitgeist of our times is chronic stress.

I don’t need to tell you that there are a million and one factors that contribute to these seemingly insurmountable stress levels.

But in my humble opinion, chronic stress levels can be largely attributed to the asymmetry between our external world and our internal world.

What do I mean by this?

The external world is rapid, slick, and expansive with the advent of technology and AI.

In contrast to our internal world which is still delicate and reptilian-like at times.

The asymmetry between these two worlds is cosmically large.

Mental, physical, and spiritual stress arises with this conflict.

Now, understanding and deploying the below stress mitigation tactics will allow you to regain individual alignment in a world devoid of sanity.

Believe me when I say that being able to mitigate stress in real-time is a superpower.

It has powerful implications on quality physical, mental, and spiritual health - the individual alignment trifecta.

Avoiding Stress Is Impossible, Offloading Stress Is Possible (& Kinda Easy)

Chronic stress floods your system with Cortisol - this is your biologically programmed alarm system.

Cortisol shunts non-essential functions and activates the ‘fight or flight’ response.

It is an essential hormone for a plethora of reasons;

Early morning waking
Immune system bolstering
Cognitive function

However, chronically elevated Cortisol can have drastic impacts on your health:

High likelihood of weight gain
Acne breakouts
Sky-high blood pressure
Inflammation
Anxiety
Slaughtered libido
Tanked Testosterone

Not to fear though, there are cortisol and stress modulation strategies that work in real-time.

Let’s get into them.

Breathwork

Breathwork is not sexy or cool, but it is ultra-effective at shifting physiological states in real time.

It’s one of the most potent tools in your toolkit.

You literally have the ability to stimulate, or relax your nervous system depending on the task at hand - without any supplements, drugs, or biohacks.

In case you don’t know, breathwork is exactly how it sounds.

Deliberately altering the pattern of breathing to induce a specific physiologic state.

For the purpose of this newsletter - which is centered around reducing stress - I’ll focus on breathwork patterns that induce relaxation.

There are three types worth knowing.

Alternate nostril breathing - an ancient Pranayama technique

It’s exactly as it sounds - switching the breath through your nostrils.

It goes like this:

Press your right thumb on your right nostril, and inhale through your left nostril for 4 seconds
Press your right index finger on your left nostril, exhale through your right nostril for 4 seconds
Keeping your right index finger on your left nostril inhale through your right nostril for 4 seconds
Press your right thumb on your right nostril and exhale through your left nostril.

Repeat the cycle.

I encourage you to try it right now and see for yourself.

Box Breathing

This is a symmetrical pattern of breathing that Aaron Rogers (2X NFL MVP) uses to reduce stress in games.

For example;

4-count inhale
4-count hold
4-count exhale
4-count hold

Repeat for 5-10 minutes

Parasympathetic breathwork

This is a type of breathwork that activates the ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic nervous system.

This is the antithesis of the ‘fight and flight’ sympathetic nervous system.

Parasympathetic breathwork involves extending the exhale beyond the inhale.

For example;

4-count inhale, 6-count exhale
2-count inhale, 4-count exhale
4-count inhale, 8-count exhale

This will offset elevated cortisol and thus stress, in real-time.

Dietary Strategies

Now, most people are completely unaware that food choices directly impact stress and cortisol levels.

These are some dietary food inclusions:

Omega-3s:

Low levels of dietary omega-3s have been linked to cortisol dysregulation.

Include Mackerel, Sardines, Eggs, and Red Meat in your diet for Omega-3s.

Dietary pre and probiotics:

There is an intimate relationship between gut health and Cortisol regulation, specifically through the Adrenals.

Our Adrenals are glands that produce hormones, one of them being Cortisol.

Include Kefir, Sauerkraut, Cheese, and Kombucha in your diet.

Supplements

Supplements are often gimmicks.

But in the cortisol and stress modulation realm, there are actually some effective products.

These include;

L-Theanine - a personal favorite of mine.

L-Theanine has been shown to reduce both psychological and physiological stress.

It has the ability to reduce your heart rate quite substantially, as well as reduce an important stress marker - salivary immunoglobin A (IgA).

It has also been shown to reverse some of the oxidative stress caused by chronic stress - in rodent models.

This is the brand I use (no affiliation).

2. Tongkat Ali - not just a Testosterone supplement?

Tongkat Ali is one of the more effective Testosterone supplements on the market.

One of the ways in which it improves Testosterone levels is by reducing the Cortisol/Testosterone ratio.

Cortisol and Testosterone tend to have an inverse relationship, meaning as one goes down the other goes up, and vice versa.

In this study, Tongkat Ali supplementation reduced salivary Cortisol by 16% and increased salivary Testosterone by 37%.

The actual Cortisol/Testosterone ratio was subdued by 36% overall.

3. Ashwagandha

I have mixed opinions about Ashwagandha.

Clinical data suggests efficacy, but anecdotal data suggests problems for some men.

This study found that Ashwagandha can induce “near-significant” reductions in stress and morning Cortisol levels.

However, Ashwagandha acts on the 5HT2A Serotonin receptors. These are the same Serotonin receptors that Psilocybin (magic mushrooms) act one.

This is not to say that you’ll hallucinate from taking Ashwagandha, but upregulating these particular receptors can have an inhibitory effect on Dopamine.

As a result, some men report feelings of lethargy, sedation, and dullness.

In essence, they experience mild anhedonia - emotional numbness.

Understand this before starting an Ashwagandha regimen.

Biohacking

If you’re unsure as to what biohacking is, don’t fret.

There are two ways to define it in my humble opinion;

Using technology to mimic the natural world. For example, during the winter months when sunlight is sparse, using artificial infrared panels to mimic sunlight.
The intersection of technology and nature. For example, a cold plunge pool that is cooled via a machine. The water is natural, the cooling system is technological.

Stress mitigation is one of the more researched and developed areas of biohacking.

I will touch on three different ones that I’ve personally experimented with.

Red Light Therapy:

The human organism responds particularly well to certain wavelengths of light - near-infrared and infrared wavelengths to be specific.

Multiple clinical studies back this.

Our cells absorb these wavelengths, and energy processes within the body are upregulated. This counteracts both psychological and oxidative stress within the body.

During the winter months, I tend to use it first thing in the morning due to the sparse sunlight availability.

Braintap:

This is a wearable device that combines;

Light
Sound
Guided meditations

(this is what it looks like + a flick of my buddy wearing it)

The premise of Braintap is to lull you into an almost hypnotized state through the combination of light, sound, and guided meditation.

As a result, it promotes internal relaxation and reduces Cortisol.

It’s actually very effective.

I typically use it mid-afternoon, when I’m feeling a dip in energy.

I chuck on a 20-minute guided meditation and usually fall asleep during that time.

My energy levels are restored and even enhanced post-use.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training:

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is classified as the variance in time between your heartbeats.

It measures the balance between the ‘Fight or Flight’ & ‘Rest & Digest’ response.

It is a very good biomarker for stress levels, and thus Cortisol.

Our heart rate is aligned with our physiological state:

Stressed: our heart rate spikes and the time between beats goes down.
Calm: our heart rate drops and the time between beats goes up.

In theory, the more variable your heart rate, the more likely you’re able to calmly respond to the environment.

Having a high HRV is a very good measure of stress resilience.

When training HRV, we aim for what’s called ‘Resonance’, which is where our heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration are all in sync. We go from sporadic to aligned on a physiological level.

It looks like this:

I invested in an HRV training wearable designed by Heartmath.

This is what it looks like (below).

You clip it to your ear lobe, and the electrodes are able to measure your HRV in real time.

Since using it, it has become clear to me that the human vessel stores stress in the body.

For instance, at times I'd get on a nice coherence streak and deliberately revisit old traumas.

I immediately lost the coherence in real-time as you can see in the below picture.

Over time, as I've practiced, revisiting trauma and stress doesn't seem to alter my coherence anymore.

I seem to be able to remain aligned despite holding stressful memories in my mind.

HRV training has been the main driver of this.

This is exactly what HRV training induces - stress resiliency.

Recap

Chronic stress is synonymous with modernity and has detrimental effects on the individual alignment trifecta - mental, physical, and spiritual health.

These elevated stress and cortisol levels are impossible to avoid, but possible to offload.

The air-tight strategies include;

Regular breathwork practice
Dietary Omega 3 and pre/probiotic foods
Intelligent supplementation with L-Theanine, Tongkat Ali & Ashwagandha
Biohacking through red light, Braintap, and HRV training

The first three are free or low-cost, so there's really no excuse not to implement them.

I'll sign off with this guarantee: offloading stress with the above tools will provide you with a monster ROI. Health-wise, productivity-wise, and relationship-wise.

I wish you well on your journey brother.

Until next time.