Sleep is one of the most fundamental processes in the human body. Contrary to the picture society may paint sometimes, quality sleep is a need and not a luxury. Unfortunately, many people (to the tune of 90 million adults) still struggle to get sufficient and high-quality sleep every night. The journey to getting better sleep starts with finding the possible factors contributing to poor sleep in the first place, and this is where the relationship between cortisol and sleep comes to light. Find out how cortisol affects sleep and tips on leveraging this relationship to improve your sleep.
Uncovering the Relationship Between Cortisol and Sleep
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands, and it serves primarily as the body’s stress hormone. However, the functions of cortisol extend beyond the body’s stress response, as the hormone influences metabolism, the inflammatory response, and immune function. Studies have also found a relationship between cortisol and sleep
High cortisol levels are associated with different sleep disorders including insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea. Insomnia is a disorder that makes it difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep, while obstructive sleep apnea affects breathing during sleep due to a collapse of the airway. Aside from these sleep disorders, an increase in cortisol levels at night is linked to difficulty in maintaining wakefulness during the day.
Therefore, abnormal cortisol levels can be correlated to poorer quality of sleep. Another study supported this theory, finding that people with healthy cortisol levels generally report better quality sleep. Uncovering the relationship between cortisol and sleep is one thing; understanding the reason for this relationship is another, involving several different factors.
Cortisol and Sleep: The Circadian Connection
The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour internal clock in the brain that influences essential bodily functions, including alertness and sleepiness, hormonal changes, digestion, and temperature. Light changes in the environment have the biggest influence on the circadian rhythm, although food intake, stress, temperature, and social environment also play a role. As it relates to sleep, light and darkness mainly determine when you feel awake and when you feel drowsy. Darkness promotes sleep, while light promotes wakefulness.
The circadian rhythm is critical in ensuring quality sleep. However, there is also a relationship between the circadian rhythm and cortisol production that is affected by sleep. Research shows that cortisol levels are lowest around midnight in the initial part of sleep, increase towards the end of sleep, and peak around wakefulness. Cortisol levels also vary throughout the day, and there are several secretory episodes throughout the day in response to stress, eating, and other biological activities.
Therefore, cortisol levels in the body follow the circadian rhythm of sleep. However, the direct production and secretion of cortisol is controlled by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The HPA axis is a complex neuroendocrine system coordinating the body’s stress response. It starts with the release of corticotropin-releasing hormone from the hypothalamus, stimulating the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone, which then prompts the adrenal glands to produce and release cortisol.
Ultimately, the relationship between cortisol and sleep boils down to the circadian rhythms of sleep and the HPA axis.
How Do High Cortisol Levels Affect Sleep?
Cortisol is released in response to stress or perceived danger in the body by stimulating the HPA axis. The body activates the sympathetic nervous system (also known as the flight or fight response) and seeks to provide energy to body cells and tissues to combat the perceived threat.
Therefore, cortisol’s immediate effects include increased blood sugar levels, increased heart rate and blood pressure, increased alertness, and reduced digestion. Virtually every nucleated cell in the body has cortisol receptors, so the range of effects of cortisol is broad.
The activation of the HPA axis around the time of wakefulness is due to the body recognizing the need for energy to start the day, which cortisol provides through its physiological effects on metabolism and circulation. Similarly, the suppression of the HPA axis at bedtime (reflected in lower cortisol levels) is the body preparing for rest and the reduced need for energy.
Since cortisol aims to provide an energy boost and promote wakefulness, it can interfere with sleep quality when its levels are high. High cortisol levels for extended periods indicate that the body constantly faces a lot of stress, and studies confirm that chronic stress disturbs sleep and increases the risk of sleep disorders. As such, it is also no surprise that conditions that are caused by chronic stress, like adrenal fatigue, are frequently characterized by insomnia.
Adrenal fatigue is a condition where the body cannot cope with life’s daily stressors. Basically, the adrenal glands are tasked with producing and secreting cortisol, but if they are stressed consistently over a long time, they can get fatigued. This adrenal fatigue then affects cortisol production.
Strategies for Reducing Cortisol Levels
There is a relationship between cortisol and sleep, with high cortisol levels being associated with poor sleep quality. Therefore, reducing cortisol levels is essential to improving sleep quality. Here are some of the best strategies for reducing cortisol levels.
Improve Sleep Health
One of the most important strategies for reducing cortisol levels and improving sleep quality is improving sleep health. This may sound ironic, and understandably so, but the relationship between cortisol and sleep is interconnected.
While high cortisol levels can cause sleep problems, poor sleep quality can also cause high cortisol levels. In turn, sleep quality drops even further, creating an unwanted cycle. The reason for this relationship is the many factors that can cause poor sleep, beyond just high cortisol levels for extended periods.
For instance, increased sunlight and longer days during summer can affect sleep by suppressing melatonin and influencing the circadian rhythm. Remember that the body’s internal clock equates light to wakefulness and darkness to drowsiness. Also, factors like sleeping in warmer temperatures, taking caffeine, nicotine, or alcohol shortly before sleep, and staring at electronic screens can affect sleep.
Therefore, an important strategy for reducing cortisol levels is improving sleep health, starting with maintaining good sleep hygiene. Here are some practical steps to improving sleep hygiene:
- Have a regular sleep schedule and routine
- Avoid daytime naps
- Sleep in cool, dark rooms
- Take a cold shower before you sleep
- Exercise hours before sleeping
- Do not take caffeine (such as from coffee or energy drinks), nicotine (such as from cigarettes), or other stimulants after 4 pm
- Do not drink at night
If you want to learn more about a personalized sleep schedule or routine, especially while managing adrenal fatigue, do not hesitate to contact us!
Stress Management Practices
Cortisol is produced directly in response to stress in the body, making chronic stress the biggest factor for high cortisol levels for extended periods. Therefore, an important strategy for reducing cortisol levels is to reduce stress levels in the body.
Some of the common stress management practices are:
Yoga- Meditation
- Breathing exercises
- Tai chi
- Journaling
- Social interactions
Supplements
Supplements add nutrients and minerals that a regular diet does not provide. However, supplements do more than just boost nutrition, as they can help in the management of certain conditions, including sleep disorders. The benefit of supplements in managing any health condition will only apply under the right conditions, though. The right conditions for a supplement to be effective include containing the right ingredients, coming from a quality manufacturer, and being taken at the right dosage.
Relating to improving sleep quality, the right supplement ingredients should directly affect sleep processes or reduce stress levels. There are many marketers today who claim their products contain the right ingredients, but many of these ingredients and products do not have appropriate scientific backing or healthcare provider’s recommendation.
These may be useful ingredients in supplements to help improve cortisol levels and sleep:
- Phosphorylated Serine
- melatonin
- magnesium
- calcium
- sodium
- GABA
- L-theanine
- vitamins B3, B6, and D
- valerian root
- lemon balm
- chamomile
Here are two supplements we often recommend that contain these ingredients.
Stay Asleep ER by Dr Lam®
Stay Asleep ER® is an advanced sleep support supplement with extended-release benefits, promoting deep, restorative sleep and reducing sleep disturbance. It features key ingredients like melatonin, GABA, and magnesium that regulate sleep cycles and reduce stress. Additional components such as tryptophan support serotonin production and calm the sympathetic nervous system.
Adrenal PS by Dr. Lam®
Adrenal PS® is a unique formula designed to support stress management by modulating cortisol levels and increasing stress resilience. This supplement is a carefully crafted blend of phosphorylated serine, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. Adrenal PS® promotes well-being, helping you achieve a balanced and healthier life.
Before taking any supplement, however, it’s always best to talk it over with your healthcare provider.
Physical Activity
Cortisol and sleep are connected, and both can be influenced by physical activity. Several mechanisms have been proposed for why physical activity can reduce cortisol levels. One of the more common mechanisms is that physical activity may train the sympathetic nervous system and make it more efficient at handling stress.
Physical activity also has biological effects that counteract cortisol’s effects. For example, high levels of cortisol can cause mood changes due to conditions like depression and anxiety. In contrast, physical activity stimulates the release of endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers.
Again, it is impossible to overlook the direct impact of physical activity on sleep. Physical activity can increase melatonin production, a hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm and promotes sleepiness. Additionally, physical activity can help regulate body temperatures, which also promotes sleep. Therefore, physical activity has a dual effect on improving sleep by reducing cortisol levels and targeting other factors that influence sleep.
The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and dancing) per week. You don’t have to log all of these 150 minutes in a day or two, though. Instead, set a goal for 30 minutes five days a week. The CDC also states that 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (running, fast cycling, and hill-climbing) may suffice. Try to add strength-training activities into your routine, as well.
However, do note that if you are in the more advanced stages of adrenal fatigue, high-intensity exercise requires more cortisol and can act as a stressor on the body. Therefore, it’s best to stick with lower-intensity exercises like walking or yoga until the body is stronger.
What Are the Symptoms of High Cortisol Levels?
Cortisol can cause several physiological effects, and considering that cortisol affects almost every organ and tissue in the body, the range of effects of cortisol is extensive and widespread. Different symptoms may arise if cortisol levels get too high for extended periods. These symptoms include:
- Sleep difficulties
- Weight gain, especially in the belly region
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety
- Irritability
- Gastrointestinal problems, including constipation, diarrhea, and bloating
- Skin problems
- Brain fog
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
How to Test Cortisol Levels
The standard way of testing for cortisol levels is through laboratory tests of biological fluids, such as blood, urine, or saliva. The sample used for the cortisol test depends on the type of information healthcare providers need and patient convenience.
Most of the body’s cortisol is in the blood, making blood cortisol tests the most typical way healthcare providers assess cortisol levels in the lab. However the limitation is that you can’t get blood drawn 4 times in one day easily, so that’s why saliva test is best utilized to measure Cortisol throughout the day. In addition, saliva test can be done from the comfort of one’s own home and schedule. Health practitioners use saliva cortisol tests because of their convenience for the patients and also to allow patients to collect samples at specific times.
Cortisol exhibits diurnal variation, meaning it changes throughout the day. Therefore, the time you take the test is also important to get the most relevant results possible. Test in the morning right upon awakening, around noon time, evening, and night time before bed.
Some cortisol saliva tests also include melatonin testing, which would be useful to see how circadian rhythm is affected.
Conclusion
The relationship between cortisol and sleep is important in improving sleep quality and managing different sleep disorders, including insomnia. The major connector between cortisol and sleep is the circadian rhythm, with the cortisol circadian rhythm being connected to the sleep circadian rhythm.
Reducing high cortisol levels can help in improving sleep quality. Typical strategies for reducing cortisol include improving sleep health and hygiene, using stress management strategies, trying supplements, and considering physical activity. Regardless of the quality of any supplement, ensure you talk to your healthcare provider before using it.
If you’re struggling with sleep issues related to cortisol imbalance or adrenal fatigue, give us a call at +1 (626) 571-1234 for more info on natural approaches to resolving your particular health challenges and restoring your wellness.
