Dr. Campbell's 10 Adrenal Secrets
Following what most people do will lead to the results most people get. Don't stay ignorant. Look "Beyond the Chart" with Dr. Bradley Campbell
Adrenal health is an ethereal enigma. What the heck is that, anyways? Well, I did write a book on Adrenal Fatigue, which you can get on Amazon here to understand it better. In short though, adrenal glands regulate the 4 “S” hormones:
Salt
Sex
Sugar
Stress
Breaking those down in simple terms, here is what the adrenal glands help manage:
Salt- blood pressure regulation and craving salt/balancing electrolytes with the kidneys.
Sex- hormones that impact periods, libido, motivation, and muscle mass, and more.
Sugar cravings, cortisol levels, sugar levels, energy levels, and sleep are regulated in part by your adrenal glands.
Stress hormones like adrenal-ine, epinephrine, norepinephrine are secreted by your adrenal glands, so adrenal gland issues can cause low level chronic stress, and chronic stress can also negatively impact your adrenal glands.
90% of my new patients have adrenal dysfunction
So many Americans have adrenal fatigue, and almost all of them have adrenal problems to some degree.
What people really need to hear is often hard to hear. I challenge you to slowly, carefully, and introspectively think about this 10 list and figure out whether you have issues with each one or not, and WHY. The way to truly heal the root causes of your problems is to be child-like: ask WHY. Keep asking WHY until you figure out the real reasons why your behavior is what it is, and ask WHY you haven’t changed it yet or WHY you haven’t succeeded in that area yet, or WHAT you need to have/do to succeed, and HOW you are going to succeed, and WHO you need to become in order to succeed.
Regulate your sleep. Staying up late on weekdays/weekends is not helpful for your adrenal health. You aren’t like a teenager who can get away with an irregular sleep schedule. 95% of sleep health is habits. Take responsibility for your bad decisions and start shifting them.
Process your stress, on a regular basis. If you don’t know how to process your subconscious stress, you are in trouble. Meditation, journaling, affirmations, therapy, etc. do not work by themselves.
Do not caffeinate nor use legal/illegal drugs unless absolutely necessary, and under certain special circumstances. Caffeine, marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, vaping, cigarettes, hookah, etc are all harmful to your adrenals. Going to a healer to work on your adrenals while doing these most days would be like trying to fix your car at the mechanic while taking your car to a demolition derby. Don’t even waste your time, honestly.
Over training and under training are harmful for your mitochondria, adrenal health, heart health, hormones, and more. Dr. Phil Maffetone has a formula that is 180 minus your age, which is your top heart rate zone number. That number is your target heart rate for exercise. So if you are 40, your target heart rate would be 130-140 (180-40 is 140, the top number for your heart rate zone). You can add or subtract 10 points to that range, depending on your overall health and fitness level, but many people work out too hard or not hard enough. You should not be unreasonably tired or uncomfortable post-exercise in order to heal.
Supplements do nothing unless your lifestyle is in order, though great supplements help profoundly. I will discuss my favorite after the paywall below.
Healthy habits do not matter if your soul is suffering. In Chinese Medicine, your adrenals are related to motivation and purpose. Without an existential and spiritual understanding of who you are, why you are here, and what your purpose is, your adrenals may not heal. Happiness, having fun, and enjoying your daily life are crucial to healing your adrenal glands. Many people grow up and forget that any job can be fun (even working at the DMV) if your attitude is right. Fun is a choice and a mindset, just like choosing to smile and focus on gratitude and positivity. Most of my adult patients have forgotten to have fun, and it is perhaps the most important thing they can do to age gracefully, enjoy life, and stay healthy.
The trauma you had as a child may still be sabotaging you. Now, therapists do not like the term self-sabotage anymore, but sometimes our subconscious really does sabotage us. In truth, it is often coping strategies that our brains/bodies have developed that served us in the past but may no longer be serving us in the present time. Figure out your ACEs score here. If you don’t know it, you may never heal. Everyone should know their ACEs score, as it is just as important as your credit score, your weight, and your functional medicine inflammatory lab levels. Trauma-trained therapists and NET providers are my favorite ways to help those with more trauma in their past. Therapists help with more severe cases, and NET helps almost everyone who is open to it.
Your body is where the stress is. Your issues are in your tissues. Stress and fatigue are physiologic problems, and treating them always as psychology issues or conscious problems in therapy can often miss the real truth. Always, mental health issues are physical as well as psychological. To treat your subconscious, you must use a special technique like NET or somatic trauma healing to clear it. You can also feel it to heal it, but how do you have confidence that is really working? Most people learn to regulate their thoughts.
Often, adrenal issues are not a root cause fix. This is why I have a root cause fix in my membership, which is currently 25% off with code OHBABY. Go here to learn more, and join now before rates go up in 2026.
Supplements only work for about 2 weeks to 2 months, and will stop working if you don’t fix the root cause of your adrenal problems.
I am also taking some new patients in 2026, and you can apply here.
I’ll discuss below my favorite adrenal health supplement protocol:
