What are your thoughts on attempting to supplement for the effect of reducing cortisol levels upon waking? My feelings are that achieving this would have a positive impact on the rest of that day and may help to improve LBM over time.

I'm a big believer in cortisol suppression and have used Rhodiola Rosea, Poloquins Serenity 2.0 and Cissus quadrangularis to great effect.

Cortisol is not high in the am usually, due to the am test release. U nee to think about mid-day and mid afternoon.

You need cortisol AM to wake up! Don't go messing with circadian rhythms, they are there for a reason. I suffer from high evening cortisol and low AM cortisol and sometimes i find it impossible to get up or function for at least 30 minutes before the cortisol kicks in.

RoB wrote:You need cortisol AM to wake up! Don't go messing with circadian rhythms, they are there for a reason. I suffer from high evening cortisol and low AM cortisol and sometimes i find it impossible to get up or function for at least 30 minutes before the cortisol kicks in.

Max wrote:Cortisol is not high in the am usually, due to the am test release. U nee to think about mid-day and mid afternoon.

As Rob says cortisol is high in the morning to wake you. However it is not of relevance as your Test peaks early doors and naturally reduces cortisol levels.

Max wrote:Cortisol is not high in the am usually, due to the am test release. U nee to think about mid-day and mid afternoon.

That's not how it should be, should be high plasma AM and gradually lower through out the day. Increasing the pressure to sleep towards night time.

RoB wrote:

Max wrote:Cortisol is not high in the am usually, due to the am test release. U nee to think about mid-day and mid afternoon.

That's not how it should be, should be high plasma AM and gradually lower through out the day. Increasing the pressure to sleep towards night time.

Yhyh lol what I meant to say was that the hight test makes the cortisol not a problem*

But once you're awake it's work is already done so surely you'd want to promote lowering?

what makes you think you have high cortisol in the morning?

Are you taking any herbals at the mo? Or if you have been for how long and when did you stop?

health4ni wrote:what makes you think you have high cortisol in the morning?

Are you taking any herbals at the mo? Or if you have been for how long and when did you stop?

I don't, I'm just theorising that it may help to keep off unwanted weight.

I've found that eating well (lots of veg, good protein, good carbs etc etc etc the usual stuff), training well, sleeping well and drinking enough water makes the biggest improvement to hormones. If they get out of wack then some herbals and others are good to reset it.

Poliquin loves Pantethine, PS, Holy Basil, RR. There are others but I think these are the best. I've always rated Holy Basil.

The thing is it reaches its peak in the morning when you should be most active. All you need to ensure is that you stay on the normal circadian rythym for cortisol. Problems begin when you go higher than normal and lose control of it.

This talk of circadian rhythms is exactly why shift work fecks you up. Totally destroys your natural circadian & sleep patterns

teething babies also have a nasty habit of ruining cr's!
but heh i would sooner have less sleep and sky high cortisol than not having my lil' girl

not taking any credit as not mine= but arnica is getting thrown into the ring, i am sure i have mentioned this before, i always thought it was for bruises, but a prominent homeopathist explained how it resets shock when orally ingested
so not for perennial usage, but something to consider for acute stressful times

health4ni wrote:This talk of circadian rhythms is exactly why shift work fecks you up. Totally destroys your natural circadian & sleep patterns

Tell me about it!!!!

julesm wrote:teething babies also have a nasty habit of ruining cr's!
but heh i would sooner have less sleep and sky high cortisol than not having my lil' girl

not taking any credit as not mine= but arnica is getting thrown into the ring, i am sure i have mentioned this before, i always thought it was for bruises, but a prominent homeopathist explained how it resets shock when orally ingested
so not for perennial usage, but something to consider for acute stressful times

I've seen arnica mentioned before and I have noticed that when I pop arnica tablets before bed to help with rugby injuries I usually sleep pretty soundly. I may test this tonight.

Any links to decent arnica products?

@Jules: yes, in 5 months I'll have a wean so will know all about it.