Are you suffering from Abnormal Cortisol Pattern?
One of the greatest ironies in medicine is that people who are exhausted from Burnout/Adrenal Fatigue sufferer from chronic insomnia. How can a person who can barely get up in the morning and has to muddle through the day be awake all night long, the answer is they have an abnormal cortisol pattern.
Normally a person has their highest levels of cortisol around 8 am. This high level helps them get up in the morning and have the energy to work throughout the day. Cortisol levels drop by 50% by noon and by 80% by 5 pm. This steady decline in cortisol allows a person to relax at the end of the day and get a good nights sleep. It is not only the low cortisol level at night that allows for sleep but also the gradient change from high to low that lets the body know it is time to rest. It has been well documented that people suffering with adrenal fatigue/Burnout have an abnormal cortisol pattern.
An abnormal cortisol pattern can manifest in several different ways. The general public believes that when they have adrenal fatigue/Burnout that their levels are always low and that is why they are always fatigued which may be true. The more common cortisol pattern for those with adrenal fatigue/Burnout and insomnia is that their cortisol level has shifted so that their high cortisol is much later in the day. If you look at the diagram below, the blue wave is a normal cortisol pattern which is highest in the am while the red is an abnormal cortisol pattern highest in the evening which leads to insomnis and morning exhuation.
This abnormal adrenal pattern feeds on itself with every consecutive day the problem gets worse. The pattern occurs because because a person at first has a delay in their morning cortisol and over time that delay just becomes worse until it interferes with their sleep.
Correcting an abnormal cortisol pattern that causes insomnia requires a special approach. A person must strengthen the morning cortisol levels and at the same time lower the evening cortisol levels. Remember, it is the gradient between the two that allows a person to feel calm and ready to sleep. Simply supporting the adrenals and or taking a sleeping aid will not correct the problem. Here are the most common nutrients I recommend.
Designs for Health: Adrenal Complex at breakfast to raise cortisol
Designs for Health: Adrenotone at lunch to balance cortisol
Xymogen Sedalin at 4pm-6pm (dinner) to drop cortisol
and if need immediate sleep relief
Designs for Health Insomnitol at bedtime to promote sleep
The products are available at www.TheAdrenalFatigueLink.com