Dr Oz: Wired & Tired?
Dr Oz shared that there’s a new sleep crisis and cortisol is behind it. Throughout the day, the stress hormone courses through your body, rising hire and hire from stress, alcohol, and even crash dieting. Dr Oz said you’re both wired and tired because of the constant cortisol roller coaster ride going on in your brain. The good news is that cortisol can actually be a benefit to your body, which is why you need to cut your stress in order to get a better night’s sleep.
Dr Oz: Jump Start Your Cortisol
Dr Oz explained how you can even out your cortisol levels so you’re not wired and tired at night, including using orange oil during your morning commute. (fdecomite / flickr)
Dr Oz welcomed Dr Alan Christianson, who said cortisol is important because you need a good burst of it in order to feel awake and energized, but at the same time, you have to shut it off in order to get a good night’s sleep to let your body rejuvenate. The first thing you need to do is change what you do in the morning and actually jump-start your cortisol.
You can jump start the cortisol by eating a half cup of resistant fiber for breakfast. Dr Christianson said that for the next 6-9 hours after eating resistant fiber, your cortisol stays right where it should, which means you’re more energized and experience less cravings later in the day.
Some great options for resistant fiber breakfasts include green pea puree on eggs, uncooked rolled oats, and navy beans blended into a shake.
Dr Oz: Orange Oil For Relaxing Commute
Dr Christianson knows that sometimes the morning commute can be the first thing that makes you cortisol go haywire. Kristen has a toddler so she knows what it’s like to have a stressful commute. Dr Christianson suggested orange oil because he said just smelling it makes you more stress resilient. It’s not perfume so you don’t want to apply it to your skin. The easiest way to make this work for you is to put some on a cotton ball each morning and set the cotton ball on the dashboard.
Dr Oz: Add Basil To Your Lunch
To ward off the midday cortisol, you should add basil to your lunch. There’s a lot of data that shows it can lower your cortisol, but not too fast. Some of Dr Christianson’s patients incorporate basil into their lunches by using it in wraps and juices, as well as on top of chicken. All it takes is four fresh leaves, or about half a teaspoon of the dried leaves.
Dr Oz: Eat Carbs At Dinner
Dr Oz also explained that you need to further lower your cortisol levels by eating the majority of your carbs at dinner. Dr Christianson said that if your blood sugar is too low, your body will put out more cortisol to raise your blood sugar, which can get in the way of your sleep. Good, simple foods can help heal your cortisol rhythm. It takes just about a cup of cooked carbs to get you where you need to be.
Dr Christianson suggest you eat beans, brown or wild rice, quinoa, or vegetables as your carbs at dinner.
Dr Oz: Lower Cortisol Levels Before Bed
You should continue to lower your cortisol levels before bed and one way you can do that is by taking a negative ion shower. Dr Christianson explained that warm water about an hour before bed is perfect. One audience member named Shawna started taking her showers before bed rather than in the morning and found that it really helped her relax.
Dr Oz also suggested you dim the lights about a half hour to an hour before bedtime. Shawna used candlelight before bed and really liked the way it made her feel.
Dr Christianson is the author of The Adrenal Reset Diet.
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