[Jenf]

Hi is it true when recovering from insomnia, where you are struggling with sleep related anxiety strongly, that your cortisol levels raise in the evening instead of fall and spike randomly throughout the night. Is it true that your brain needs time to relearn how to regulate the cortisol?

[Martin Reed]

Increased cortisol is a normal part of the body’s stress response — and the stress response might come from the struggle we engage in to make sleep happen or to otherwise fight or avoid wakefulness and the difficult thoughts and feelings that can come with it.

Although nighttime wakefulness can be very unpleasant (especially when we are trying really hard to fight or avoid it) it’s not the same kind of threat as a hungry grizzly bear waiting under the bedsheets for us — and yet, our brain might not know the difference. Sometimes it requires training. It needs to learn that wakefulness isn’t such a threat. That it’s not going to eat us, like that grizzly bear might!

We can work on training the brain by doing things that help us move away from a nightly battle and the ongoing struggle. The more we allow wakefulness to exist without struggle, the more we might train the brain that it doesn’t need to activate the stress response.

I hope there’s something useful here!

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The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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