Understanding Cortisol's Influence on Insulin
Do you feel physically exhausted by the end of the day, yet find your mind racing the moment your head hits the pillow? You aren’t just “stressed”. You may be dealing with cortisol dysregulation.
In this episode of Think Well, Do Well, Dr. Alan Bradford breaks down the “Goldilocks hormone.” Far from being a villain, cortisol is a necessary component of your health, but only when it’s released at the right time in the right amounts.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The Cortisol Rhythm: Why your morning peak is vital and why evening spikes are stealing your sleep.
The Metabolic Trap: How chronic cortisol shifts your body into a “survival” state, promotes visceral belly fat, and fuels insulin resistance.
Testing Limitations: Why a standard “morning blood draw” often misses the full picture of your adrenal health, and why serial saliva/urine testing (like the DUTCH test) provides a clearer roadmap.
The “Wired and Tired” Fix: A simple, zero-cost breathing technique you can use anywhere to manually shift your nervous system from “fight or flight” back into “rest and digest.”
If you’re tired of the “white coat” approach that ignores your symptoms, it’s time to look at the data behind your daily rhythm.
Resources Mentioned:
Malhotra, V., Srivastava, R., Parasuraman, P., Javed, D., Wakode, S., Thakare, A., Sampath, A., & Kumari, A. (2022). Immediate autonomic changes during right nostril breathing and left nostril breathing in regular yoga practitioners. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 11, 280. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_343_22
This study investigated the immediate autonomic effects of unilateral nostril breathing in experienced yoga practitioners. Researchers monitored heart rate variability (HRV) after 5-minute sessions of right and left nostril breathing. The findings revealed that both techniques significantly increased parasympathetic markers, suggesting that these rhythmic breathing patterns can effectively promote a state of relaxation and autonomic balance regardless of which nostril is used.
