How Stress Robs You Of Precious Sleep

Do you have trouble falling asleep?

Do you have trouble staying asleep?

The “stress hormone” cortisol helps control our daily wake-sleep (circadian) rhythm. Normally, Cortisol levels should be highest in the morning and lowest at night. Here’s how cortisol maintains our circadian rhythm: At night, even as the body is asleep, our brain is still working and needs fuel. While asleep, cortisol is slowly released over time to maintain the blood sugar needed to feed the brain. Cortisol levels continue to rise throughout the night, and when they are high enough we wake up. When we break our 6-9 hour fast by eating our morning meal, our blood sugar rises and cortisol levels drop off through the day. They’re at their lowest in the evening allowing us to fall asleep and the cycle repeats itself.

When this cycle is normal we can get the “good night’s sleep” that we need. However when cortisol levels are abnormally high or low our sleep pattern suffers. Typically, high cortisol levels in the evening are associated with a difficulty falling asleep. Conversely, when cortisol levels are too low you may not be able to stay asleep.

What you need to know: Your cortisol circadian rhythm can be tested with a hormone panel. If your cortisol cycle is too high or low we recommend changing your lifestyle and/or taking nutritional supplementation (more on this later) to normalize the release of the “stress hormone.”

Read more about the circadian rhythm.

Read more about stress techniques.

Stress Tip: Eating a healthy breakfast can help normalize cortisol levels.