“Why You Can’t Sleep: Cortisol Spikes at Night”
You’re exhausted. Your eyes feel strained. Your body is heavy.
But when it’s finally time to sleep… your brain won’t shut off.
You’re tossing. Scrolling. Replaying the day.
You fall asleep late — or wake up in the middle of the night — and can’t settle back down.
It’s not just “bad sleep hygiene” or anxiety.
It’s cortisol. At the wrong time.
And in CSR recovery, nighttime cortisol spikes are one of the biggest threats to healing.
Cortisol Isn’t Supposed to Be High at Night
In a regulated system, cortisol:
- Peaks early in the morning
- Tapers off throughout the day
- Hits its lowest point around midnight to 2 AM
- Stays low while melatonin and growth hormone support deep repair
But in dysregulation?
- That curve flattens or reverses
- Cortisol spikes too late
- Melatonin gets suppressed
- You either can’t fall asleep… or you keep waking up
This isn’t random — it’s the hormonal result of a system that still thinks it’s under threat.
How Night Cortisol Sabotages CSR Recovery
CSR thrives in stress states. Retinal fluid retention, vascular pressure, inflammation — they all increase when cortisol is too high for too long.
When your body fails to wind down, you lose the very windows that retinal healing depends on:
- REM sleep, where neurological reset happens
- Deep sleep, where tissue repair and inflammation control take place
- Autonomic downregulation, which tells your nervous system: you’re safe
So even if you’re “sleeping,” your body isn’t recovering.
How to Know if You’re Spiking Cortisol at Night
It often shows up like this:
- You’re physically tired but mentally wired
- You get a second wind around 9–11 PM
- You wake up between 2:00 and 4:00 AM, alert or anxious
- You grind your teeth or clench your jaw
- Your heart rate is elevated or variable on a sleep tracker
- You wake up unrefreshed, even after 7–8 hours in bed
This is cortisol doing the wrong job at the wrong time.
What You Can Do to Lower Nighttime Cortisol
This isn’t about hacks — it’s about signals.
You need to send cues of safety to your system in the 2–3 hours before bed.
Evening Cortisol Reset (Start 90–120 mins before bed):
- Dim your lights.
Bright overhead lighting keeps your brain in “day mode.” - Stop scrolling.
Screens stimulate dopamine and stress circuits. Step away. - Eat a small mineral-rich snack.
A few macadamia nuts, bone broth, or dark chocolate with magnesium. Low blood sugar can spike cortisol at night. - Salt + magnesium before bed.
Try a pinch of sea salt and 200–400 mg magnesium glycinate or threonate. Calms the nervous system. - Breathwork or meditation.
Even 3–5 minutes of slow nasal breathing drops your heart rate and cortisol levels. - No problem-solving.
Don’t engage in mental loops. Write it down and leave it. You can’t fix your life at midnight.
Final Thought
You’re not failing to sleep.
Your body is failing to feel safe enough to let go.
Cortisol is a hormone of vigilance — and recovery begins when vigilance ends.
This part of the work isn’t about more effort.
It’s about practicing surrender, softness, and signals.
Next up in Entry 9:
“How Screen Time and Stimulation Delay Recovery”
We’ll break down how modern life — phones, lights, content — keeps you in a low-grade fight-or-flight that shows up in your eyes and energy.
Keep trusting the unwind. You’re learning how to come down.
