Why stress hormones are high at night (and how to lower them so you can sleep!)
Why stress hormones are high at night (and how to lower them so you can sleep!)
If you can’t sleep, it’s probably because your stress hormones are high at night when they shouldn’t be.
In this blog post, you'll learn:
- what hidden health imbalances can make your body release cortisol at night
- which functional lab tests identify what's causing high cortisol in your body
- what genes cause your body to hold onto stress hormones at night
- how to know if you have these genes and how to deal with them
Let's dive in!
What hidden imbalances can make your body release cortisol at night
The most common reasons for high cortisol at bedtime are:
- Blue light at night
- Stress
- Low blood sugar
- Food sensitivities
- Poor macronutrient (fat, protein, and carbohydrate) balance
Cortisol can be high in the middle of the night from:
- Low blood sugar
- Liver detox issues
- A pathogen in the gut
Night owl syndrome (going to be really late) can also be from high stress hormones at night or low serotonin.
Which functional lab tests identify what's causing high cortisol in your body
The question is: Why is cortisol high at night?
To find out if blood sugar is affecting your sleep, check out this blog post:
What you Need to Know about Blood Sugar and Sleep
I use the Dutch (hormone and cortisol test) and GI Map (gut health test) tests to look at liver function.
And the GI Map also looks for pathogens that could be sabotaging your sleep.
You can take a supplement to lower cortisol but you don’t want to do that without testing and you know that you need it. If your adrenal glands are producing much cortisol, you don’t want to lower it even more.
And you don’t want to artificially lower cortisol for long because your body is releasing it for a reason, usually to protect itself from inflammation.
What genes cause your body to hold onto stress hormones at night
Other stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine (commonly referred to as adrenaline and noradrenaline) could also be high at night and ruin your sleep.
If certain genes are acting “dirty,” then your body may not clear these stress hormones quickly enough and so they’re still high at night.
The good news is our genes aren’t our destiny. Genes can act up when the body doesn’t have the nutrients it needs or when diet, toxins, lack of exercise, etc., are affecting them.
How to know if you have these genes and how to deal with them
Genetics tests show what you’re predisposed to, but they don’t show which genes are currently acting up, so they aren’t necessarily that helpful. I use a genetics assessment instead of testing to see which genes need support right now.
If your COMT gene is acting slow, this causes your genes to metabolize estrogen, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine too slowly which makes them stay too long in your body.
A slow MAOA gene can cause an excess of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin which affects your mood, energy, and sleep.
Recommendations from Dirty Genes by Dr. Ben Lynch for slow COMT and MAOA:
- Allow time to recover from stressful situations. Find what works for you to calm down (walking away, breathing exercises, going outside, etc.)
- Do stimulating activities (exercising, gaming, dancing) earlier in the day and the calming ones in the evening.
- Since you're a thinker, find activities that stimulate you so you don't get bored.
- Practice calming activities such as hiking, meditating, playing, laughing, or listening to music.
- Work hard and play hard. Balance overwork with vacations and relaxation (massage, epsom salt baths, saunas, etc.).
- Identify stressors and remove as many as you can (news, certain friends or family, long work commute, routine chores, etc.).
- Optimize your weight because body fat increases estrogen.
- Minimize toxins by eating organic, using clean personal care products, drinking filtered water, etc.
- Eat more beets, carrots, onions, artichokes, and cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, kale, brussels sprouts, cabbage).
- Support your liver with bitter vegetables and herbs such as dandelions and radishes or take bitters before meals.
- Limit high-catechol foods and drinks (coffee, chocolate, green and black tea) and monitor caffeine, especially if you're going through a bout of insomnia or PMS.
- Limit excess histamine.
- Limit protein intake if you feel anxious when you eat too much protein. Protein is high in tyrosine which can slow down this enzyme. You can also try eating your largest amount of protein at breakfast, less at dinner.
Conclusion
The way to find out what’s going on with your stress hormones is to test and assess.
This is what we do in my sleep program. In the Insomnia Insight program, you’ll know the imbalances that are causing your sleep issues and you'll have a plan to fix them in just 30 days so you can sleep better and make the difference you’re meant to make in the world.
No more guessing at supplements.
No more wondering why you can’t sleep like a normal person.
No more worrying about, thinking about and researching about sleep all the time.
We’ll find and fix the root cause of your insomnia so you can sleep well without meds.