Ryker
12-07-2014, 02:43 AM
There's some very interesting research going on that links your natural 'circadian rhythm', or indeed an unnatural one! to anxiety.
We know that Anxiety is supported by an action of what's called the HPA Axis - there are three parts of the adrenal system - the Hypothalamus (the old brain - the part shared by all animals), the pituitary gland ( this is like the 'master' hormone gland in the body ) and the Adrenal Glands, that sit on top of your kidneys and make the Adrenalin fuel that stokes our anxiety bonfire.
There are mechanisms that spot the stressful situations and act to tell the hypothalamus that there's nothing to worry about and that it should ask the Pituitary gland to make the right hormones to calm things down and not ramp things up! In people with anxiety this doesn't work so well. We all know what happens when it goes wrong.
Sorry it's a long story, but these hormones that do all the messaging about anxiety and stress naturally go up and down in levels during the day. The main hormones that are responsible for calming things down (ACTH and other cortisols) have a natural responsiveness cycle that peaks sharply and rapidly about 40 minutes after waking and then declines throughout the day reaching its lowest at around 9pm in the evening and then rising again after that slightly.
A poll would be interesting, but it's probably likely that people experience anxiety most acutely either immediately on waking early in the morning, or late evening.
Something I did when I was working on my anxiety was to keep a diary - noting how I felt at different times of the day and when I was most successful at coping, and when less so. I found it really useful.
It might work for you too - being aware that your ability to cope with stresses really does fluctuate through the day is an opportunity for us to find our strong times, and our weak times. Make the most of the strong times and not to over-do things at the wrong time of day for us.
Maybe re-arranging your day, or making sure you get regular exposure to sunlight and the right amount of sleep will make just that little extra bit of difference?
R.
We know that Anxiety is supported by an action of what's called the HPA Axis - there are three parts of the adrenal system - the Hypothalamus (the old brain - the part shared by all animals), the pituitary gland ( this is like the 'master' hormone gland in the body ) and the Adrenal Glands, that sit on top of your kidneys and make the Adrenalin fuel that stokes our anxiety bonfire.
There are mechanisms that spot the stressful situations and act to tell the hypothalamus that there's nothing to worry about and that it should ask the Pituitary gland to make the right hormones to calm things down and not ramp things up! In people with anxiety this doesn't work so well. We all know what happens when it goes wrong.
Sorry it's a long story, but these hormones that do all the messaging about anxiety and stress naturally go up and down in levels during the day. The main hormones that are responsible for calming things down (ACTH and other cortisols) have a natural responsiveness cycle that peaks sharply and rapidly about 40 minutes after waking and then declines throughout the day reaching its lowest at around 9pm in the evening and then rising again after that slightly.
A poll would be interesting, but it's probably likely that people experience anxiety most acutely either immediately on waking early in the morning, or late evening.
Something I did when I was working on my anxiety was to keep a diary - noting how I felt at different times of the day and when I was most successful at coping, and when less so. I found it really useful.
It might work for you too - being aware that your ability to cope with stresses really does fluctuate through the day is an opportunity for us to find our strong times, and our weak times. Make the most of the strong times and not to over-do things at the wrong time of day for us.
Maybe re-arranging your day, or making sure you get regular exposure to sunlight and the right amount of sleep will make just that little extra bit of difference?
R.