Cortisol is a steroid hormone that controls a wide range of processes throughout the body, including metabolism and the immune response. This hormone also has a very important role in helping the body respond to stress.
Cortisol hormone is named as the “stress hormone” as it helps the body in responding to stress by increasing the heart rate, elevating blood sugar levels, etc.
Cortisol hormone is the primary hormone released by the adrenal glands, which is responsible for producing energy from the stored nutrients, responds to stress by increasing the heart rate, elevating blood sugar levels, controls the sex drive, etc.
The adrenal cortex is the outermost layer of the adrenal gland which plays a primary role in the production of cortisol and other hormones. The adrenal cortex comprises three main layers of cortex called zones, which are classified based on their functions.