Last week we discussed adrenal fatigue (to read more about that click here).
This week I want to continue our discussion about the adrenal gland and discuss cortisol dysregulation.
So what exactly is cortisol dysregulation and how does it affect your sleep (and your health)?
As we discussed last week – your adrenal glands secrete important hormones for survival. One of those hormones is cortisol and among other things it is responsible for raising blood sugar, increasing blood pressure, and regulating inflammation.
It is also part of your body’s stress response. When your brain senses danger it sends a message to your adrenals to pump out cortisol (and adrenaline) in response to this stressor.
Once the stressor is gone – your body is supposed to return to baseline and normalize its production of these hormones.
But – what happens if you are in a constant state of stress? And your body never really gets a clear message to shut off its production of cortisol?
That unfortunately leaves you in a situation of adrenal excess – feeling tired but wired.
Signs of high cortisol or adrenal excess include:
trouble falling asleep
feeling stressed and overwhelmed
weight gain around the middle (that just won’t budge)
carb cravings that you just can’t control
feeling anxious or nervous
having a short short fuse
skin conditions like eczema
high blood pressure or rapid heartbeat
high blood sugar
digestive issues ( IBS, GERD etc)
slower healing
Then it becomes a vicious cycle – and the elevated cortisol can leave you feeling like you’re in a constant state of stress – frazzled, irritable, unable to sleep, waiting for the next shoe to drop.
This state of hypervigilance can also lead to digestive issues, excess belly fat, hormonal issues, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, immune system dysregulation, osteopenia/osteoporosis, inflammation and premature aging.
Once your body has been in adrenal excess for a while it can get tired of constantly producing cortisol and can then show signs of adrenal deficiency.
Signs of low cortisol or adrenal deficiency include:
feeling burnt out
trouble waking up
fatigue (especially the afternoon energy dip)
loss of motivation
depression
low blood pressure (including feeling dizzy when you stand up)
low blood sugar
scattered thinking
carb cravings
need for caffeine to make it through the day
This state of burnout can lead to autoimmune diseases, allergies, and frequent infections.
But here’s the clincher: you can cycle between adrenal excess and deficiency – or high or low cortisol within the same day.
I call this cortisol dysregulation.
A few weeks ago we discussed circadian rhythms (you can read more about that here)
Cortisol production is part of your circadian rhythm. It should be relatively higher in the morning – it gives you the push to get up and get moving in the morning. And it should be relatively lower in the evening – allowing you to wind down and go to sleep at night.
But when your adrenals are overworked – they become dysregulated and you lose your circadian rhythm. To read more in depth about cortisol dysregulation click here.
The number one sign of this cortisol dysregulation is having trouble falling asleep at night and trouble waking up in the morning.
What to do about it? Stay tuned….
