HPA axis

The HPA Axis stands for the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis. Sounds complicated, but it is essentially one of the body's main communication systems for responding to stress. It is like your body’s internal stress-response network, linking the brain and adrenal glands in a constant conversation about what is happening in your environment. Whether you are running late for work, worrying about finances, doom-scrolling at midnight, or genuinely facing danger, the HPA Axis helps coordinate the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to help you adapt and survive.

At the New School of Nutritional Medicine, we view the HPA Axis as much more than an ‘adrenal issue’. It is influenced by sleep, blood sugar regulation, inflammation, trauma, relationships, circadian rhythms, nutrient status, and the countless pressures of modern life (and we seem to accumulate plenty!). 

The HPA Axis is also in constant communication with the HPT Axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid Axis) and the HPG Axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal Axis), which regulates reproductive hormones. In many ways, the HPA Axis behaves like the boss of the hormonal hierarchy. When stress is high and prolonged, it can influence thyroid function, menstrual cycles, fertility, testosterone production, and many other aspects of health. The HPA Axis emphasises to us that stress is not simply something that happens in the mind but it is a whole-body experience that influences almost every system in the body.