- By Iram Hussain
- Tue, 11 Mar 2025 05:32 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Cortisol, the hormone we typically associate with stress has a powerful influence on our sleep patterns and circadian rhythm. Sleep and stress interact in a bidirectional fashion, sharing multiple pathways that affect the central nervous system (CNS) and metabolism and may constitute underlying mechanisms responsible in part for the increasing prevalence of metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes.
In a conversation with Jagran English, Dr.Prasanna Kumar T, Professor, Respiratory Medicine, Ramaiah Medical College explained how cortisol affects our sleep.
How does cortisol affect your sleep?
The sleep-wake cycle follows a circadian rhythm. Every 24 hours, roughly synchronised with nighttime and daytime, our body enters a period of sleep followed by a waking period. The production of cortisol, the stress hormone in our body follows a similar circadian rhythm. Cortisol production drops to its lowest point around midnight. It peaks about an hour after waking up. For many people, the peak is around 9 a.m. In addition to the circadian cycle, around 15 to 18 smaller pulses of cortisol are released throughout the day and night. Some of those smaller bursts of cortisol correspond to shifts in our sleep cycles.
When stress on the body becomes recurring and chronic, this delicate cycle is imbalanced. Persistent stress levels are the leading cause of a plethora of sleep-related disorders and complications like insomnia, sleep fragmentation and reduced deep sleep even when an individual is experiencing exhaustion. Poor sleep further elevates cortisol levels in the body, creating a vicious cycle of disbalance in the body that becomes hard to break.
In recent years it is observed that patients suffering from conditions such as sleep apnea are more likely to have consistently high cortisol levels. Sleep apnea causes frequent 'microarousals', more commonly seen as shortness of breath and irregular breathing patterns during sleep. For patients with chronic insomnia issues, cortisol function often manifests as 'hyperarousal' or a state where the brain remains hyper-alert even when the body is exhausted during rest periods. It is observed that increased activity in emotional processing centers during sleep attempts, suggests that the brain constantly remains in a stress response mode.
Addressing cortisol-related sleep disorders requires a comprehensive and detail-oriented approach. Beyond sleep hygiene measures, it is often recommended to practice stress reduction consistently throughout the day, enjoy evening relaxation rituals that act as signals for the body to lower cortisol levels, consistent sleep-wake schedules to reinforce natural cortisol rhythms and much-required management of existing conditions like anxiety.