Stress, Adrenal Function and Sleep

OK - What is the deal with stress, adrenal fatigue and sleep and what do they have in common? The “fight or flight” syndrome – you’ve heard of it, right? Accompanied with the image of the saber-toothed tiger dashing after a hunter, getting ready to attack. I’m sure we all have experienced this right? In modern times, we’re not literally in that frantic position, but our bodies are often reacting as if we were fighting for our lives. This “flight or fight” response is controlled by the adrenal glands and takes over when we are stressed.  Our adrenal glands, located on top of each kidney, are forced to work overtime in an effort to deal with stressors we encounter on a daily bases:  injury, disease, work, family, finances, environment, etc. In today’s world, we have managed to create all kinds of stress for ourselves and our overall health begins to pay the price.  We start out in adrenal overdrive trying to over compensate for the stress, and we are left in adrenal burnout or ADRENAL FATIGUE!!!

It’s hard to imagine these small adrenal glands, essentially the size of a walnut, are responsible for the producing hormones that help the body to control blood sugar, burn protein and fat, help to regulate blood pressure all while reacting to the stress we put on our bodies everyday. One of the most important hormones is cortisol.  Cortisol production is crucial for the body to combat stress and it is also just as important for cortisol levels to return to normal following a stressful event. Nowadays, stress seems to be a state of being for so many people that the body doesn’t always have a chance to return to normal, resulting in health issues, adrenal fatigue, low thyroid function, sleep disruptions, lowered immune function, increased belly fat along with other negative effects.

Although not getting along with a boss or missing a bill payment are not life-threatening like the saber-toothed tiger, our bodies react to these stressors in a similar fashion. The body starts to feel unsettled. More and more cortisol is produced because the body believes it needs massive amounts of energy to “run for its life” or get through the day. This happens over and over again throughout the day:  getting the kids ready for school and getting yourself ready for work, traffic, spilling coffee on your new suit, your assistant calls in sick and you’ve got to send out 20 packages today, the babysitter is late picking up the kids from school and taking them to soccer practice, your late afternoon meeting runs over and you leave the office late so family dinner becomes you eating leftovers alone...so you can see how the body doesn't necessarily have enough time during the day to return to "normal".  And all this is going to happen again tomorrow!

Here’s the problem:  chronic stress can overload the adrenal glands to the point of exhaustion. For some, the fatigue will become overwhelming and the adrenals will no longer function properly to provide the energy and resources the body needs on a day-to-day basis. When someone is exhausted, the most natural and most suggested solution is to,

 get more sleep!!

That’s not always easy with adrenal problems because insomnia is a common symptom. There are, however, steps you can take to prepare yourself for a better nights sleep, which is certainly one of the best ways to refresh and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit!

For better sleep and to begin to heal your adrenal glands:

1.  Go to bed at the same time every night between 9:30-10pm. Your adrenals do most of their recharging from 10pm-2am, with 10pm-12am being the most important, so be sure to stick to a sleep schedule as much as possible.

2.  Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and sugar in late afternoon/evening (or remove them completely from your diet to avoid any rollercoaster-like blood sugar surges).

3.  Keep a gratitude journal near your bedside. Every night, list five things for which you are grateful. Remind yourself that even though you may feel fatigued, there are wonderful aspects of your life and many reasons to heal.  Gratefulness and acknowledgement of successes in life have the power to lift moods and release stress!  Give this one a try!

4.  Take a relaxing bath with Epsom salt, not only is this detoxifying to the body, it will also allow your muscles to relax as well.

5.  Skip the alcohol and grab a night time tea.  Alcohol depressed the adrenal glands and lowers cortisol production.  Over time this can lead to low immune function, increase in inflammation and sleep disruption.

6.  Before crawling into bed, write your to-do list for the following day, or things you want to get accomplished.  The last thing anyone wants to do once in bed is to constantly think about what they have to do the next day.  Write it down and get it out of your head and onto paper.

7.  Shut off the electronics a few hours before bed.  I know this one can be tough but give it a try to see if this helps your sleep!  Instead, grab a good book, a book for personal development, personal growth and log in some reading before hitting the pillow.

8.  Be sure to get some form of exercise in during the day. Though not too much because with adrenal fatigue the last thing you want to do is put extra stress on your adrenals.  But a good sweat session with a HIIT class, sauna session, or some restorative exercises like yoga, pilates, walking will do the trick.  This will help you deal with the feelings of stress too!

We hope these tips for getting better sleep, decreasing stress and beginning to heal your adrenal glands was helpful!