Page 9 - Autoimmune diseases

the day and sleep at night. Many of the hormones

in your body also have a daily cycle. Cortisol, one

of the “stress hormones” is supposed to peak in the

morning, diminish as the day progresses and be at a

low level during the night when you sleep.

The immune system also has a daily cycle and is

affected by both your level of stress and your sleep

pattern. During the night and early morning when

cortisol is lowest, your immune system produces

more of the chemical signals related to the type 1

response.

If you are under high level of constant stress, the

daily pattern of cortisol release can become

scrambled, peaking at 2- 3 am rather than at

daybreak. (Incidentally,this is why may people

have a form of insomnia that wakes them at this

time) This is made even worse by long term

chronic stress where the body becomes more and

more exhausted over time.

Where cortisol is one example,there are many

other examples within the body where stress

disrupts the normal daily hormonal and

neurological cycles of the body. Stress also

disrupts the normal immunological cycles of the