Aderaline Rush

Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that helps prepare us to face stressful situations. When we encounter a stressor, adrenaline is quickly released into the body, creating what is often called an ‘adrenaline rush.’ This rapid stress response is the hidden mechanism behind what we know as the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.

The term ‘fight-or-flight’ has historical roots in the experiences of our ancestors, who often had to choose between confronting a threat or fleeing for safety. This response is the body’s way of reacting to danger, allowing us to either face the problem—like confronting a growling dog—or escape from it by running away.

Symptoms of Adrenaline Rush

The symptoms associated with adrenaline rush include

• Pupil dilation
• Rapid heart rate
• Increased breathing 
• Increased blood pressure
• Feeling jittery, nervous, anxious
• Feeling highly cautious and alert
• The digestion process slows down so other muscles can use the blood that is normally used for digestion.

Neurobiology behind an Adrenaline Rush?

Adrenal glands are two triangular-shaped glands situated just above each of your kidneys in your mid-back. They produce several hormones that help regulate your blood pressure,  immune system, metabolism, some of your sex characteristics, and even stress responses. One of these hormones is adrenaline. Stress response is a bodily reaction to stressful stimuli. Likewise, adrenal glands release epinephrine in response to stress. This response triggers a lot of changes in your body. One change might be what is known as the fight-or-flight response.

When you encounter something threatening or stressful, a region in the brain called the amygdala, which processes emotions sends a signal to another area, the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is the hormonal control centre of your body, which in turn sends the signal to your adrenal glands. Epinephrine plays a small role as a neurotransmitter but a major role as a hormone. It is produced in your nerves only in a small amount. It helps maintain focus, attention, metabolism, panic, and excitement. Abnormal levels of epinephrine can be linked to sleep disorders, hypertension, anxiety, and lowered immunity.

How to Get an Adrenaline Rush?

An adrenaline rush is typically triggered by heightened activities that involve adventure, excitement, danger, etc. Here are some ways that might cause an adrenaline rush,

• Skydiving
• Zip lining
• Rock climbing
• Snowboarding
• White water rafting
• Bungee jumping or cliff jumping, BASE jumping

Additionally, when certain situations like getting a panic attack, being in a near-traffic accident, watching a horror movie, or going to a haunted house might provoke you into having an adrenaline rush. However, they also come with negative emotional and physical effects if prolonged for a longer time.

Negative Effects of Adrenaline

While adrenaline can be thrilling, the sudden onset of stress and excess stress hormones released in your body can have negative effects like,

• Tremors
• Dizziness 
• Chest pain
• Headaches
• Inability to sleep 
• High blood sugar
• Muscle weakness
• High blood pressure
• Agitation or irritability
• Anxiety or nervousness
• Heart rhythm changes, including irregular heartbeat, palpitations, increased heart rate 

Excessive physical and emotional stress can damage your heart. It can lead to a health condition known as broken heart syndrome. It happens when the blood flow to your heart is reduced because of intense emotional distress. It can lead to potential health risks.

How to Control Adrenaline?

Some ways you can calm yourselves after an adrenaline rush include:

1. Practice any breathing technique of your choice

Breathing techniques stimulate your vagus nerve, a key part of your parasympathetic nervous system. This helps regulate your heart rate, digestion, and mood, promoting overall balance and relaxation. Your parasympathetic nervous system counteracts whatever your sympathetic nervous system does. By stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system, you can calm the aftereffects of an adrenaline rush. Examples of breathing techniques include:

• 4-7-8 Breathing: Sit in a proper position with your chest uncovered. Breathe in through the nose and count to 4, hold the breath and count to 7, and then exhale through the mouth counting to 8. Continue this cycle for 2-5 minutes depending on the depth of the microbial load.
• Box Breathing: You can do this when you are standing, but the best position is to sit down, keeping your spine straight and your chest forward. Use this to help roll your shoulders back. Breathe in for four seconds, then pause for four seconds, and then breathe out for four seconds. continue with this cycle for a few minutes or as long as you feel your heartbeat slow down and you feel more calm.
• Alternate Nostril Breathing: Sit down with your chest open. Place the ring finger and thumb of one of your hands over the wings of your nose. Pinch one side of the nose with your thumb to block it, and breathe in through the free nostril only. Breathe out and then pinch your ring finger, using it to close the other nostril while you remove the thumb from the first one. Breathe out slowly through the open nostril, then breathe in slowly and lock your lungs while the nearest nostril is closed with the thumb and the second one is opened by removing the ring finger. With the right nostril still open, take a deep breath in with a breathing interval of approximately 10 minutes. 

2. Listen to calming music or nature sounds

Some of the music that most people consider to be soothing are Native American, Celtic, and Indian stringed instruments. Other relaxing instrumental music may include light jazz, classical, or easy-listening music accompanied by midnight, rain, thunder, other wonderful nature sounds, etc. Most of the channels on YouTube will create playlists of music that can help relax as well as nature sounds. You can also give the music resources of your meditation app a test run.

Adrenaline vs Noradrenaline

Adrenaline and noradrenaline are two novel distinct chemical entities that belong to the same catecholamine group. They are produced in the centre or medulla of the adrenal glands and for some neurons of the central peripheral neural system. They circulate in blood plasma and act as hormones, as well as neuromodulators, which transfer impulses to target organs. Based on the type of cells that are operating, adrenaline has various effects. But still, adrenaline contributes to the ‘fight or flight’ response of the organism to the stress, i.e. to very active, sudden movements. It is released primarily by stimulation of nerves that supply the adrenal glands which in turn stimulate the release of adrenaline and thereby raises the concentrations of adrenaline in the blood.

This process takes some time though not more than 15 minutes after the unpleasant event has been experienced. Once the stressor is removed, the delicious call to the adrenal glands is reduced and this simply indicates that the adrenal glands stop producing adrenaline. Some of the things adrenaline does are; cause an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, dilation of the airways of the lungs, dilation of the pupil of the eye, less sensitivity to pain, vision, hearing, and other sensations, less animal digestion, shifting of blood to muscles, changing in metabolism increasing oxygen and nutrient supply to all parts of the body, and increasing sensitivity of glucose.

A closely related hormone, noradrenaline, is secreted chiefly from the nerve endings of the sympathetic nervous system. There is low but constant baseline firing of the sympathetic nervous system and low circulating levels of noradrenaline but at times of acute and chronic stress adrenaline production and release are high. It is released chiefly through stimulation of nerve fibres at the sympathetic Ganglia that release adrenaline and cause an elevation of the blood adrenaline levels. This process occurs fairly rapidly, within minutes of this stressor being experienced.

Sometimes, when the stress has been removed, the signals to the adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline are also stopped or reduced. Stress also activates secreting the adrenocorticotropic hormone from the pituitary gland and causes cortisone of the cortex of adrenals glands to be produced. This steroid hormone is more related to changing the metabolism of the body (for example, increasing plasma glucose) in chronic rather than acute stress conditions.

Adrenaline vs Cortisol

Adrenaline and cortisol are two hormones secreted from the adrenal glands and taken into the blood when you experience a stressful situation. However, your body puts out these different hormones at different times of the day. The first hormone to be unleashed in your LVF stress response is adrenaline and its main role is to increase heart rate, the rate of breathing, and blood pressure. This aids in preparing the body for either fight or flight. Cortisol follows adrenaline and is secreted by the body after the exhilaration of the event but before you have to deal with it. Cortisol acting on almost all your body systems means it has many effects. But one of them is to make your liver release its stored sugar so you have the energy you need to fight or run. 

What Happens If I Have Too Much Adrenaline?

High adrenaline levels are extremely normal and there is truly nothing wrong with that. Exercise rapidly raises the levels of adrenaline in our systems. Most people are exposed to stressful situations on occasion so most of us are familiar with the typical symptoms of adrenaline release, such as cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, nervousness, hyperhidrosis, and tachycardia.

However, this is a normal response of the body which is meant to assist us to come up with an appropriate reaction to a stressful situation. In other words, after the sharp exacerbation of stress symptoms manifest quite rapidly as a result of the cessation of high levels of adrenaline secretion. but in States of chronic stress cortisol adrenaline and noradrenaline are released and cause high blood pressure headaches and weight gain. Popular suspicion on why some people with obesity and untreated obstructive sleep apnea may be exposed to high levels of noradrenaline/adrenaline each night as they struggle to breathe might be one of the causes of high blood pressure in such individuals.

Rarely, other causes include a tumour in the adrenal gland, known as pheochromocytoma, or a paraganglioma, if the tumour is outside the adrenal gland but along the nerves of the sympathetic nervous system that runs through the chest and abdomen. Like other types of tumours, these may also be hereditary. The symptoms include LDL which may have the physical symptoms of adrenaline excess on an intermittent basis but the symptoms could be mild in those few that could barely be noticed. It can in other instances lead to flushing, sweating, headache, increased heart rate, and anxiety. Pheochromocytoma can’t be cured other than by surgery though medication to control the blood pressure is needed before that.

What Happens If I Have Too Little Adrenaline?

Insufficient adrenaline is extremely rare, even if both adrenal glands are removed due to disease or surgery. This is because 90% of noradrenaline, which performs most of the same functions as adrenaline, is produced by the nervous system. As a result, “adrenaline deficiency” is not recognized as a medical condition, except in rare cases involving severe genetic abnormalities in the enzymes responsible for producing catecholamines.

This is because adrenaline levels may be opening to enhanced stress in your body. For instance, if you’ve lost both your adrenal glands due to disease or surgery, you can still calm yourself by practising relaxation techniques. This is because 90% of the body’s noradrenaline comes from the nervous system. Consequently, ‘adrenaline deficiency’ isn’t typically a medical condition but a genetic enzyme deficiency that affects catecholamines. Increased adrenaline levels are often linked to your body’s response to stress. If this is the case, you may be able to manage your stress in a healthy way such as:

• Exercising

• Sleeping well
• Eating a healthy diet
• Reducing caffeine and alcohol
• Meditating or doing another relaxation technique
• Speaking to a doctor or mental health professional

Medical Uses

Adrenaline has uses in the management of severe allergic reactions like Anaphylaxis, in situations of very low blood pressure, in cases of bleeding, and in cases of cardiac arrest. It may also be given in different forms during cardiac arrest, croup, and asthma.

An example of an adrenergic drug for the treatment of anaphylaxis is one that you can use via an autoinjector. If you have a condition that makes you potentially eligible for adrenaline quickly (including severe allergic reactions) then you can be shown how to use an EpiPen or Anapen adrenaline auto-injector. Adrenaline is used to straight away shrink the blood vessels in your throat, widen your airways, and keep your blood pressure from dropping.

Adrenaline is taken in the large muscle of the thigh and can help you to survive. If after 5 minutes you are not feeling normal, if you are still breathing heavily, then take another injection from a new packet of adrenaline. When injected with adrenaline outside a hospital or even in your home there is the need to go to a hospital even though you are feeling better. Hospital doctors will observe you for not less than 4 hours in this hospital.

What if I have both asthma and allergy?

In many cases, asthma, food allergy, and anaphylaxis coexist in the same individual. Anaphylaxis is more likely to occur if you have asthma so if you have an allergy and asthma your GP may also prescribe an adrenaline auto-injector for you to use if required. If you have asthma and suddenly have problems breathing:

1. It is important, however, to always use the adrenaline autoinjecter first.
2. Take your asthma as needed rescue inhaler
3. If you still cannot breathe, dial for an ambulance.

Conclusion 

Stress or what might be dangerous to an individual is called an adrenaline rush which can lead to particular symptoms afterward. That may cause you to pant, feel your pulse speed up, and even break a sweat at the palm of your hands. It can be exhilarating because it can assist in enhancing attention, alertness, and cognition. Some people will look for a thrill by practising risky sports like bungee jumping or skydiving. Excessive adrenaline manufacturers anxiety, headache, alteration in the beat per minute, and blood pressure. To combat the surge of adrenaline, you can try the four steps: Fog, Maps, Cane, and a Funeral – in reality, they mean deep breathing, listening to calming music, a leisurely walk, or a good conversation with a friend.

FAQs

1. What is Adrenaline?

Adrenaline also known as epinephrine is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. This hormone helps prepare us to face stressful situations. 

2. Where are the adrenal glands located?

Adrenal glands are two triangular-shaped glands situated just above each of your kidneys in your mid-back. 

3. What happens during an adrenaline rush?

Generally, during an adrenaline rush, you might experience a rapid heart rate, increased breathing, increased blood pressure, pupil dilation, and feeling highly cautious and alert.

4. What activities can induce an adrenaline rush?

Adventurous activities like skydiving, zip lining, snowboarding, bungee jumping or cliff jumping, BASE jumping, white water rafting, and rock climbing trigger an adrenaline rush.