7 Easy and Cheap Tips to Improve Your Adrenal Function

What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal Fatigue is a term coined by Dr. Wilson in the 90s to describe the symptoms he was seeing in his patients– feeling wired and tired, anxious, depressed, low libido, injuries that won’t heal, trouble recovering from a workout, sleep abnormalities, wake up feeling unrefreshed, chronic dehydration, panic attacks– and attributing them to a decrease in function of the adrenal glands.

My husband, Victor, is the most laid-back, easy-going guy you’ll meet.  But 13 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long) he had a severe case of adrenal exhaustion. It was horrible.

Victor was working out vigorously, eating super clean (I’m talking only chicken and broccoli), and would tell you that he wasn’t stressed out.  But he was always tired, couldn’t recover from workouts, would have bouts of anxiety and depression, random panic attacks, and couldn’t drop weight.

After months of running tests and doctors saying it was all in his head (or the best one was the endocrinologist who said it was his “culture”), we finally started treating it on our own as adrenal exhaustion. At the time, there wasn’t much information on adrenal exhaustion like there is now and we had to go through a lot of trial and error to come up with a solution.

If you have any symptoms of adrenal fatigue, I recommend trying these approaches for a few weeks and see if you feel better.  If your adrenals aren’t too beat up, these things should help. 

However, if you are in full adrenal burnout, these measures may not be enough to make a significant difference and you should seek out more help.

Give these 7 strategies a try and also check out this blog to rule out overtraining. 

Boost Your Energy with Vitamin C

Try taking 3000-5000mg of vitamin C a day for a few days and notice if you start feeling better. You can’t overdose on C and this is one of the easiest ways to know if you have some adrenal issues going on. If you are really tired, take 1000mg with each meal but not too close to bedtime or it might disrupt your sleep, which brings me to the next solution.

Get a Solid 9 Hours of Sleep Each Night

This one is so important.  I can’t tell you the number of clients we have that just need to change this one factor and would see their health improve dramatically. 

It’s super important to get to bed before 10:30 p.m. if your adrenal health is compromised.  If you don’t have the luxury to sleep in until 7:30 a.m., try to go to bed early enough so that you do get 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep each night. 

Catching up on sleep on the weekend might not help either.  It’s way more important to get your body on a regular sleep pattern than to average out 9 hours over a week. 

If you have trouble falling asleep early, try to not watch TV or be on your phone after dinner. Also, try eating a warrior-style diet, taking a low dose of Melatonin before bed, reading an entertaining but not too intense book before bed, and using aromatherapy like lavender oil.

There are a lot of great sleep supplements out there that are natural but one of our favorites is ONNIT’s New Mood because it helps you feel calm, produces more serotonin to fight off depression, and improves your focus.

Salt Your Food With Himalayan Salt

You’ve been told salt is bad and yes, salt in processed food is a no-no. But adding a high-quality sea salt like Himalayan Salt will help keep your adrenals healthy.  In Dr. Wilson’s book, Adrenal Fatigue, he recommends adding 1/4 tsp of salt to your water with each meal.  It helps! 

Eat Coconut Oil

While Victor was recovering from adrenal exhaustion, he’d have to eat spoonfuls of high-quality coconut oil throughout the day as one of the many ways to repair his gut health. Adrenal exhaustion often causes a leaky gut (or sometimes vice versa).  Coconut oil is antibacterial and anti-fungal and kills off the bad bacteria in your gut, helping you to heal. You can also try oil pulling with coconut oil. 

Drink Bone Broth

Adding bone broth to your meals is also a cheap and easy way to improve gut health.  You can buy grass-fed soup bones and throw them in a crockpot with onion, celery, carrots, and garlic overnight and then add it to my meals when I cook.  When Victor felt bad, he’d just have a cup of it with his meals each day.  This is one of the easiest ways to help your body recover!

Take a Digestive Enzyme

If you have severe digestion issues, take a digestive enzyme to help you.  I love ONNIT’s Total Gut Health supplement because not only does it have digestive enzymes and probiotics, but it also includes prebiotics and betaine HCL which will improve digestion and in turn, improve adrenal function.  Healing your gut is a top priority in recovering from adrenal exhaustion.

Get Horizontal to Recharge Your Adrenals

You don’t have to have a full siesta every day but try to lay down for 15 minutes in the afternoon to give your adrenals a rest.  Sitting in a chair doesn’t help nearly as much as getting fully horizontal so get a hammock or lie on a blanket in the grass and zen out.  

We are also huge fans of yoga.  There are many different types of classes you can take and I encourage you to try many styles until you find one that speaks to you. 

You can have an adventurous mind and spirit but if your adrenals aren’t happy, it will be hard for your body to cooperate and live as adventurously as you want to.  Give these seven strategies a try so you can live your life full of adventure and purpose.  If you want more help, download our free guide.