Black Women and Cortisol: How Chronic Stress Affects Your Fitness

Chronic stress means living in a constant state of fight or flight. So what does that mean for Black women’s health and fitnesWhen it comes to fitness and wellness, the advice is usually simple and the same: eat less, eat right, work out. However, that generalized, one-size-fits-all plan doesn’t work for everyone — especially Black womeIn our bodies, other factors at work may block our goals. One of the biggest factors is stress.

Recognizing an ever-present obstacConsidering the effects of systemic racism, it’s no wonder that Black women live with chronic stresFor Black people, stress is a constant due to race-based trauma and fear. But it’s important to note that it’s not just trauma that leads to elevated stress levels. In fact,microaggressions may have a more profound effect on stress than isolated incidents of trauma (1).

What’s more, epigenetics research has found that cultural stress and the trauma response can be passed down through generations of DNA (2Trusted Source)This means that Black families are not only dealing with stress from their own lived experiences but also those of their ancestorsThe National Institute of Mental Health defines stress as “how the brain and body respond to any demand.” It further explains, “Any type of challenge, such as performance at work or school, a significant life change, or a traumatic event, can be stressful (3Trusted Source).”

Our bodies process stress through hormones. One of the main stress hormones is cortisoCortisol can be activated and released over an extended period of time for a multitude of reasons, such as pressure associated with an impending deadline, thinking over an issue, or responding to race-based triggers that induce feaDr. Jameta Nicole Barlow, a community health psychologist and scholar in residence for the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), says there’s a difference between stress and distress.

“People are literally carrying stress that they don’t need to carry. It’s not serving them in any way, but when you look at the root of that, it’s fear,” Barlow sayRace-based fear is something that Black women experience at heightened levels because of their intersectionality as a double minority (4Trusted SourceAs a result, Black women also tend to have heightened cortisol levels, which can lead to chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension, among otheimplications (5).