A doctor is warning of a little-known condition that could be ruining your sleep. Dr Becky told followers on TikTok that low cortisol levels could be keeping you awake – and she alerted them to ten signs to watch for.
You may be tossing and turning a lot in bed and blaming stress – but if you have other symptoms and can’t quite seem to sleep no matter what you do, then it could be time to go to the GP. Taking to TikTok to share her advice, the doctor shared 10 signs you may have low cortisol levels and in turn, high blood pressure.
Discussing “sleep behaviors you should never ignore that actually mean you have high cortisol” levels, the naturopathic doctor, Dr. Becky aka @docbeckyck, said people need to be aware of the signs.
What is cortisol and what does it do?
According to clevelandclinic.org, Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone that your adrenal glands produce and release. The essential hormone affects almost every organ and tissue in your body. It plays many important roles, including:
- Regulating your body’s stress response.
- Helping control your body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, or your metabolism.
- Suppressing inflammation.
- Regulating blood pressure.
- Regulating blood sugar.
- Helping control your sleep-wake cycle
When it comes to regulating blood pressure, elevated levels of cortisol can cause high blood pressure with lower-than-normal levels of cortisol can cause low blood pressure.
There can, of course, be other reasons why you cannot get a good night’s sleep. The NHS warns on its website: “Some people are naturally lighter sleepers or take longer to get to sleep while others might sleep badly because of anxiety, worry over stressful events or other life challenges.
“There are lots of things that can influence how well we sleep, such as our current physical or mental health, our upbringing, things that happen to us, and even our temperament.
“However, bad sleep habits or poor sleep hygiene, such as not relaxing or winding down before bed, often cause sleep problems.”
The NHS says insomnia can play a part in poor sleep. It also raises signs to look for that could be an indication you have trouble sleeping.
These include:
- finding it difficult to fall asleep
- lying awake for long periods
- waking up several times at night
- waking up early and being unable to get back to sleep
- feeling down or have a lower mood
- having difficulty concentrating
- being more irritable than usual
