What do you think about this statement?
“What you may not know is that as little as a night or two of good, sound, restful sleep may do more for controlling your cortisol levels and reducing your long-term risk for many chronic diseases than a whole lifetime of stress-management classes.”
In yesterday’s article, http://rosiebrownrn.com/the-cortisol-connection/, I cited the SENSE method outlined by Dr. Talbott in The Cortisol Connection. But before digging deeper into the SENSE program, the strong comments the author makes about the importance of a good night’s sleep stops me in my tracks.
Dr. Talbott stresses that sleep is one of the most effective ways to “manage” stress. Well, if that is the most effective method, why not start there?
The research clearly shows than an inadequate quality or quantity of sleep results in elevated cortisol levels, but here’s the really bad news: High cortisol in turn limits your ability to fall asleep and high cortisol limits the amount of time that your mind spends in the most restful stages of deep sleep.
A double whammy.
You would think if you are exhausted from chronic insomnia that you would fall asleep and stay asleep. Not so. High levels of cortisol prevent that from happening.
Here’s another scenario. Can you relate?
I have a friend who likes to call late in the evening and discuss all the woes of the world. It would take a jackhammer to interrupt this person’s flow of doom and gloom. But, ohhh. . .when I read the following information, I want to run, not walk, to the yellow pages to rent a jackhammer:
“Cortisol levels are elevated in response to stress – so any stressful events encountered in the late afternoon to early evening will hamper a person’s ability to relax and fall asleep that night.
If you’ll recall, one of the many effects of cortisol is to increase a person’s level of alertness – which is exactly what you want to avoid right before bedtime.”
Next time that person calls, I think I will borrow my son Aaron’s vernacular: “Keep it cute and keep it moving.”
In fact, I probably will need to add that action step to my previously published list of insomnia remedies. See http://rosiebrownrn.com/how-to-feel-better/ and http://rosiebrownrn.com/how-to-feel-better-continued/
The research is pretty unanimous: obtain 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night – not 4, 5, 6, or 7 as you may have grown accustomed.
You may think you are pulling a fast one on your body, but your body knows differently. You may see some obvious signs of inadequate rest, such as fatigue and lack of ability to concentrate. However, the greater damage might be told if you were to look at your body organs to see the effects of the high cortisol, paving the way for a life of chronic illness.
Insomnia? You are out of here. We’re keeping it cute and keeping it moving.
