Waking at 3am? Here’s how to reduce your cortisol levels

You wake in the middle of the night with an anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach and a million thoughts racing through your mind, which makes drifting back into a peaceful slumber an impossible task. If this is something you’re struggling with on a regular basis, it could be an indication of stress and raised cortisol levels. Thankfully, there are a number of simple solutions you can put into practice at home today which may help, as the health experts and YourGP explain…

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands and is known as the stress hormone. It is essential for helping us respond to perceived threats by triggering our “fight or flight” mechanism by raising blood sugar and heart rate.

During a normal day, our cortisol levels will naturally drop in the evening, allowing the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin to take over. Cortisol levels remain low until around 2-3am when it then gradually starts to increase to prepare your body for waking.

When stressed, a high baseline of cortisol will turn this gradual process into a much starker increase which means a more abrupt awakening and earlier than normal.

What’s raising our cortisol levels?

Life involves plenty of ups and downs, but workloads, health concerns, family problems and financial worries can all contribute to high cortisol levels.

There are also many who would point to our “always on” modern way of life as being a contributing factor. The seemingly never-ending demands on our time, receiving email alerts about work after hours, being interrupted by social media notifications, and late night doomscrolling when it’s time to wind down mean we’re not switching off properly. As a result, cortisol levels remain high, sleep suffers, and eventually we head towards burnout and exhaustion.

The vicious cycle

Sadly for many people suffering from stress, the 3am wake-ups and the tiredness and additional stress this causes can lead to a vicious cycle. Poor sleep can lead to higher levels of cortisol the next day, which can then lead to another 3am wake-up that night, and so on and so forth…

Seven simple ways to help lower your cortisol

1. Exercise more
All forms of exercise can help, however be mindful of what you’re doing and when. Gentle exercise such as walking, swimming or yoga can help regardless of the time of day. However more rigorous workouts such as running can elevate cortisol levels, so ideally schedule these sessions earlier in the day to enable your body to recover adequately before bedtime.

2. Switch up your diet
Focus on healthy, balanced meals and try to minimise refined sugars and processed fats which cause cortisol spikes. Cut back or cut out caffeine.

3. Establish a good sleep routine
Switch off all devices an hour before bed and signal to your body that it is time to rest by reading, taking a bath or listening to some soothing music. Aim to go to bed at the same time every night to establish a routine.

4. Try breath work
Exercises such as box breathing can help to calm the mind and body, and therefore lower cortisol levels. Simply inhale slowly for four seconds, hold for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, and hold again for four seconds.

5. Jot down thoughts in a journal
Putting pen to paper to record your thoughts, worries and experiences can be a helpful way to prevent negative emotions becoming bottled up and can give you the clarity and perspective you need to approach things in a calmer way.

6. Connect with nature
Research shows that spending just 20 to 30 minutes sitting or walking in a natural space can significantly reduce cortisol levels. Head outside to stretch the legs, listen to the birdsong and fill your lungs with fresh air.

7. Embrace mindfulness
Making time to stop and focus on the present can help to counter those racing thoughts that can feel so overwhelming. A mindful body scan meditation is a great way to do this. Start by lying down, closing your eyes and focusing on how your head feels, your neck, your shoulders, your arms and so on. If there is tension in a particular place, relax and let it go.

Speak to the health experts

If those 3am wake-ups are having a negative impact on your life and you would like to speak to a health expert about improving your stress resilience and managing your cortisol levels, book an appointment at YourGP. You can do so via our simple online booking system, by emailing reception@your.gp, or by calling us on 0131 556 2525 and we’ll be happy to arrange an appointment at a time that suits you.