Cortisol, Stress and Sleep: What Your Body May Be Trying to Tell You

Have you been tired lately? Maybe exhausted is a better word for it? Often that can be from an imbalance of cortisol, your stress hormone. Too much or too little can both cause a variety of issues. Cortisol Stimulatory hormone is what wakes us up in the morning. We need the right amounts of cortisol at the right times of day or else we can struggle with sleep, feeling "wired and tired", low energy and a whole list of other things (which you'll see shortly). If your cortisol is off you may feel like you could sleep forever, or can’t sleep at all! So many of us live stressful lives, whether it be stressful jobs, or juggling too many activities, or personal issues, we have learned to live in a constant state of stress.

Signs Your Body is Struggling with Stress:

Low cortisol, often coined as “adrenal fatigue”, but can also be known as HPA Axis dysfunction, or cortisol dysregulation, can lead to a multitude of issues. It can look different for everyone, but here are some of the signs:

• Poor immunity (get sick often, stays sick for longer periods of time, takes longer to recover)

• Low energy (mid-day crashes, naps, wake up feeling tired) 

• Low HDL (good) cholesterol

• Blood sugar dysregulation (needs to eat often, feel shaky if you don’t eat often) 

• Unwanted weight gain (or loss)

• Nervous system issues (startles easily, trouble regulating emotions) 

• Troubles getting/staying pregnant

• Relationship/work challenges

If this sounds familiar, then your body might be asking you for help.

Do you have Adrenal Fatigue? (10 signs to look for)

There is short term stress and then there is long term stress. Everyone’s body deals with stress differently, and some can start to struggle with adrenal issues during short term stress while others don’t start showing signs until long term. Regardless, what’s most important is to listen to your body.

Here are 10 Signs of adrenal fatigue:

• Brain fog

• Struggle getting out of bed in the AM

• Always tired or fatigued

• Irritable, or have a low mood

• Lack motivation, or you avoid exercise

• Gaining excess weight - or unexplained weight loss

• Crave salty or sweet snacks

• Feel dizzy or lightheaded

• Feel cold often

• Unexplained body aches

What Causes Adrenal Dysregulation? 

The true cause comes down to the person, their life, and their environment. While what stresses one person out, someone else might find it exciting, there are several factors that can cause cortisol issues in almost everyone.

Adrenal dysregulation can be caused by:

• Chemical and environmental toxins

• Poor nutrition (e.g., underlying food intolerance, food sensitivities, and micronutrient deficiencies)

• Over Exercising

• Toxic overload from beauty products, plastics, processed food

• Low-grade, ongoing inflammation

• Dysbiosis of the gut

• Lack of sleep

4 Steps to Overcome Adrenal Fatigue

The good news is that overcoming adrenal fatigue includes simple steps like resting and stress management. It won’t happen overnight, but with time and learning to take care of yourself and your stress, you’ll be feeling more energetic soon. Here are four steps to help overcome adrenal fatigue:

1. Rest - Starting with the basics, rest is going to be one of the most important factors for restoring (and ongoing) adrenal health. Do your best to go to bed/wake up at the same time each day. This helps to regulate your circadian rhythm, which in turn, regulates your adrenal function.

2. Understand Stress – try to mitigate stress in your life or release some of the things that stress you out

3. Get your gut in check - Ongoing inflammation taxes your adrenals. The gut is a large source of inflammation - so it’s critical to address. Remove foods that trigger gut inflammation (e.g., processed foods, industrial seed oils, gluten, etc.). Focus on nutrient-dense foods, such as pasture-raised animals, green vegetables, and bone broths.

4. Adrenal Nutrition - Your adrenal glands need specific nutrients to function at their peak. Vitamin C, zinc, and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) are known as vital players in adrenal health. In fact, your adrenal glands contain higher vitamin C concentrations than any other tissue in the human body! Adaptogens such as Ashwagandha, Maca, Rhodiola, and Cordyceps can also be very supportive for adrenal health. I use a formula in my office that has all of these but I like to test cortisol first.

A Note About High Cortisol

The majority of this blog has focused on low/or dysregulated cortisol, but high cortisol levels can also be a problem. 

Here are a few things you should know:

• 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep (under 7 hours. Average sleep from 2022 data is 6 hours a night)

• Causes can be:

  • stress

  • Anxiety

  • being too busy

  • screen time

  • poor food choices

  • lack of sleep

  • This can lead to less muscle, lowers progesterone and estrogen, thyroid function, increases insulin resistance, and increases menopausal symptoms

• If cortisol is high at night you won’t sleep

• How to fix high cortisol: 

  • cortisol manager from Integrative therapeutics

  • magnesium glycinate 500 mg minimum

  • GABA (a neurotransmitter that promotes calm)

  • L- theanine a (non-protein amino acid that blocks cortisol receptors in the brain) as well as all the adrenal fatigue suggestions above!

Being tired isn’t something you have to live with. Once you learn how to manage your stress and cortisol, you’ll be surprised at how resilient you are!

Keep Moving Forward 😊 Sarah