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High morning cortisol levels

Valley1

Valley1

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Does anyone know how to reduce high morning cortisol levels? From 3am I’m restless and sometimes wake up and can’t get back to sleep! I also have tinnitus, which is much worse at this time until about mid morning! I’m a skinny type 2 diabetic, I exercise regularly and keep my glucose levels down as much as possible and have no stress in my life. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.
 
Hi @Valley1, how do you know it's your cortisol levels that are high - have you been tested?

You mentioned not having any particular stress going on in your life but could there be something worrying you?

Some people find a type of white noise or sleep sounds to help them fall back to sleep. Have you tried something like this?
 
You say you keep your BG levels down as much as possible. What are your BG levels like? Do you test when you go to bed and when you wake up at 3am? I can't sleep well if my BG levels are above 8mmols and it makes me restless. I get my best sleep when levels are 4s and 5s.
 
Thanks for your replies. No I haven’t had my cortisol levels checked, but from doing my own research I understand cortisol levels start to rise from around 3am! So I’m assuming this is the issue, but I maybe wrong. I used to test my BG levels, but like you I sleep much better when they are very low, so I tend not to eat any carbs in the evening and I always eat early!
 
So are you saying that you are getting high waking Blood Glucose levels due to Dawn Phenomenon?
 
Experiences on the forum (including from those with various types of diabetes using Continuous Glucose Monitors) seems to suggest that some people get a fall of glucose towards the early hours, then a ‘fire up the burners’ from around 2-6am which can cause the elevated morning BG levels often called ‘Dawn Phenomenon’.

Others (like me) don’t seem to get a rise in the early hours (they can sleep in for longer than normal and BG remains steady) but as soon as they get out of bed the liver dump is triggered. We often call that Foot On The Floor.

I’m not sure how widely accepted the second Phenomenon is, but Dawn Phenomenon is recognised as part of the body’s standard circadian rhythm.

It might be interesting to check your BG when you are woken by restlessness @Valley1 to see what your levels are at that point?
 
It may not be as widely know as DP but I think FotF is reported enough that it is definitely a "thing" (see also, e.g.: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/923...tself selectively enhances epinephrine levels.) - I certainly experience it every morning if there are no ameliorating circumstances (exercise, alcohol). I also get a touch of DP, though the effect is much less pronounced than that of FotF especially if I've done any exercise (it becomes more pronounced if I go without exercise for any significant duration, but then so does the FotF).

I need to do loads of exercise to also blunt FotF, or drink moderately unreasonable amounts of alcohol (which also removes the DP).
 
Never had nighttime cortisol measured but I can reduce the 3-6 am DP by going to bed earlier, not eating late and not exercising late - all of which are reported to stimulate cortisol driven BG rises. Oh yeah, and I sleep like a baby.
 
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