The adrenal glands make a family of steroid hormones including cortisol. Cortisol is a multi-tasking hormone involved in energy production, inflammatory control, stress activation of the brain and blood sugar regulation. Any chronic stress to the adrenal glands can eventually cause cortisol imbalance.
 
Often with chronic adrenal stress the cortisol response will become excessive. This can cause difficulty getting to sleep at night, some anxiety and an abundance of energy. However, it will eventually transition to the development of fatigue as the adrenal glands begin to fail to keep up with the demand for cortisol. Other signs of adrenal fatigue include sleep maintenance difficulty, poor inflammatory control and brain fog or lack of mental clarity.
 
Sleep maintenance difficulty is a pattern where it is usually easy to fall asleep but then the individual wakes up 2-5 hours later and has difficulty going back to sleep. Cortisol is expressed in small amounts at night to help prevent low blood sugar during the 8-10 hours without eating. In adrenal fatigue the inadequate cortisol response is compensated by another hormone, epinephrine which causes the brain to become alert, but also causes the individual to feel somewhat agitated and the heart rate to elevate some.
 
Cortisol is our main anti-inflammatory hormone. In adrenal fatigue we produce inadequate levels magnifying symptoms such as muscle and joint pains, allergies and other inflammatory responses.
 
Cortisol also is a stress hormone intensifying brain alertness in response to danger or stress. Inadequate cortisol while awake will often dull perception with individuals typically referring to it as brain fog or poor concentration.
 
Adrenal fatigue is diagnosed by a combination of questionnaires regarding symptom patterns, 16-hour cortisol analysis and Biomeridian Testing. Cortisol levels vary considerably with the time of day in a circadian rhythm. For example, cortisol should be 2-2.5 times higher the first hour after awakening than it is late morning. This is why a single point blood test may be highly misleading reporting only morning or afternoon cortisol.

Resolving adrenal fatigue involves identifying the causative factors (stress, blood sugar imbalances, food sensitivities) and adrenal restoration with the appropriate nutrients and reparative herbs.