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“Get this Hormone Just Right for Restful Sleep”
by Margaret Gedde, MD, PhD
If you have trouble getting restful sleep, your
nighttime cortisol level may be too high – or,
ironically, it may be too low.
Since cortisol is an important “wake up” hormone, if it
stays high at night it’s hard to wind down and drop off
to sleep. Any sleep you get is restless – and you wake
still stressed and tired, no matter how many hours you
slept.
But your sleep can be just as disturbed if cortisol
drops too low. Cortisol supports essential body
functions, so your nervous system sees low levels as
dangerous and triggers a surge of adrenalin to keep your
body going. This is sure to wake you, maybe with a
pounding heart and a sense of doom – and you’re likely
to be awake for the next 2-3 hours, until cortisol rises
again toward morning.
If you think high or low cortisol is keeping you awake
at night, what can you do?
Since this is such an important hormone, it’s a good
idea to start with a lab test to measure your daily
cortisol rhythm. You can do this easily at home using a
kit sent to you by a laboratory that does saliva
testing. You collect four different saliva samples in
the course of a day, and ship them back to the lab.
The report shows your daily cortisol pattern. Cortisol
is normally highest first thing in the morning, to
signal your body to be awake and alert, then tapers
through the day to its lowest levels at night so you can
relax and sleep. Changes in the pattern could be
affecting how you rest.
Once you know your cortisol levels, follow these steps
to help restore a healthy daily rhythm and get your
restful, rejuvenating sleep back.
1. High nighttime cortisol
If you know or suspect that your nighttime cortisol is
high, here’s what to do.
- Identify and reduce stressors. All manner of stresses
can raise cortisol, including from work, family,
finances, relationships, pollution, toxins at home or
work, poor nutrition, eating chemicalized foods,
emotional upset, trauma, chronic pain, chronic illness
and chronic infections. Eating too much starch and sugar
in the day may be the most common cause of high cortisol
at night.
- Add adaptogenic herbs to help balance and normalize
your nervous system. Look for the following herbs, or
for blends containing them (you can take these whether
cortisol is high or low): holy basil (Ocimum sanctum),
ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), schisandra (Schisandra
chinensis), gynostemma (Gynostemma pentaphyllum),
astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), rhodiola (Rhodiola
rosae), eleuthero (Eleutherococcus senticosus),
ginseng (Panax ginseng). Avoid licorice root,
which amplifies the effects of cortisol.
- To specifically reduce nighttime cortisol, take
phosphorylated serine 1000 mg 3-4 hours before bedtime.
This normalizes the cortisol-releasing hormone ACTH.
If your cortisol is high in the daytime as well as at
night, it’s especially important to find out why. Look
for chronic infections such as dental infections, sinus
infection and intestinal overgrowth of parasites or
yeast, since these activate your immune system and
trigger the cortisol response.
If your cortisol is below normal in the day and rises
above normal at night, your adrenal glands (which make
your cortisol) are fatigued and need daytime support. In
addition to the steps above, add dessicated adrenal
cortex or whole adrenal gland, an animal product.
Dessicated adrenal contains cortisol and other hormones
and building materials, to fill the gap between your
metabolic needs and what your own adrenals are able to
produce.
2. Low nighttime cortisol
Do your sleep symptoms or testing show that cortisol is too
low at night? This means your adrenals need rest and
support. Here’s what you can do.
- Build energy by adding adaptogenic herbs in the
daytime. Details are in the section above.
- Add dessicated adrenal cortex at night. Take a small
dose of adrenal glandular at bedtime, and again if you
wake in the night. Don’t take too much, or cortisol will
go high and keep you awake for that reason.
- Look for and reduce all forms of stress. If you know
that a particular stress is affecting you, that is the
place to start.
If saliva testing shows that your cortisol is high in
the morning then drops rapidly to a low level at night,
you may have a hidden, chronic infection pushing morning
cortisol high and depleting your reserves for the rest
of the day. In this case it’s especially important to
look for and treat dental infections, sinus infections,
intestinal overgrowth of pathogens and anything else
that’s activating your immune system and driving
production of cortisol.
What if cortisol is low all day and at night too? This
means your adrenal glands are exhausted and need major
support and rest. In addition to the steps above,
support your adrenal glands during the day with
dessicated adrenal glandulars, or with prescription
cortisol (hydrocortisone) under the guidance of a
knowledgeable practitioner.
Disclaimer: Remember, this article is not medical
advice. It is for your information, and the suggestions
here may not fit your situation. Be sure to consult a qualified health
practitioner about your health concerns.
© 2005-2009 Gedde Whole Health LLC.
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