Morning Anxiety? It Might Be Cortisol Awakening Response

If you go to bed worrying about your day, your body’s like, “Hey, let me help you out. I’m going to give you a dump truck load of cortisol the minute you wake up, doesn’t that sound great?” Then you may experience anxiety upon waking. This is called the cortisol awakening response. It's connected to your circadian rhythm, and depending on how you look at it, it’s a blessing or a curse.

If you wake up to anxiety first thing in the morning, you know how uncomfortable it can be. In this video we’re going to talk about how cortisol is different in the morning and what you can do about it to better decrease your morning anxiety.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that your adrenal glands pump out in response to fear or stress. It helps your body prepare for action and it makes your heart beat faster, and can make you feel jittery and anxious. Even for people without high levels of stress cortisol levels are generally highest within the first hour of waking up.

Some people wake up with a jolt of anxiety, so powerful that it makes the whole day seem overwhelming. Some people feel frozen in their beds. Some people get activated, irritable, jittery about their day or engage in frenetic activity (this one’s me). Or that jolt of cortisol makes some people wake up to panic attacks or feel like they’re about to have one. Not the way you wanted to wake up.

Why would your body do that? Cortisol’s function is to help you get alert and perform. If you’re playing soccer, cortisol helps you get pumped up and play hard. Cortisol can help you be motivated to finish a report for work or jump out of the way of a speeding car.

But if you go to bed worrying about everything you have to do tomorrow, the brain makes a secret plan: “I’m going to help my human get super activated right when he wakes up.” So it plans a little surprise party for you. Alarm goes off, Surprise! Dump-truck load of cortisol.”

But when we have too much anxiety that we don’t know what to do with, anxiety can trap you in a cycle of worrying about things without taking action, and make it hard to complete tasks.

Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.
In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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[Shay-wllx]

I thought I was the only one that had this very uncomfortable anxiety when waking up. It's horrible!

[Eebydeeby]

"Anxiety makes us feel frozen in bed" - i have never felt more validated before. We can do this, warriors. Let's improve our anxiety one step at a time. Together. We've got this.

[zarkos]

Anxiety happens when you think you have to figure out everything all at once.
Breathe . You're strong. You got this Take it day by day.

[marymakaiwi]

I have extreme morning anxiety, it’s horrible I thought I was the only one. It helps to know what causes it and I’m not crazy! Thank you

[LixiaWinter]

I decreased my morning anxiety by switching the sound of my alarm. Instead of annoying beeping there are "morning sounds" with birds chirping and gentle harp melody

[AMcDub]

I tell my kids this:
“ Life can be tough, my darling. But then again, so are you.” 😊

[drawitout]

This is validating. I woke up with an intense sense of impeding doom every single day for a few years. It has gotten a bit better.

[dorothygale]

Being very chronically ill currently with scary health issues, within 3 seconds of waking, the reality of being back in this world, in this life, hits me like a truck, my heart pounds SOOO hard, so loud and so fast, I feel absolutely terrified to face another day of fear and uncertainty of my ill health and being bedridden and unable to escape my thoughts. It's absolutely awful to wake up like this every day. I dread it. It also happens throughout the night if I wake up. Same thing happens.
😔 😢
It helps to know I'm not the only one.

[QurVgn]

When she said, I love you, I started crying. I think maybe it’s gratitude, or that no one has said that to me in years. Thank you, Emma!

[Nyx]

My notes of what I want/need to remember from this video:
4:04 Prepare as much as possible the evening before (plans, to-do lists, set out clothing)
2:40 Before getting out of bed: Start the day grounded with a breathing exercise
3:25 While still in bed: Stretch and PT exercises
2:58 Pep talk: "I can do this" "I can do hard things"
3:05 Check the to-do lists from the evening before and update.
3:32 Wait at least an hour after getting up before coffee.
Eat breakfast before coffee (to avoid acid reflux)
DISCLAIMER: This is not a complete list of what was discussed in the video, some items are loose interpretations, some items were not even mentioned in the video

[Blessednesting]

My solution to morning anxiety is don’t read your emails or social media. Honestly staying away from coffee in the morning as well. I noticed I woke up this morning with negative feelings because I went to bed with negative feelings. So conquering the negative before bed with positive affirmations, prayers, thoughts and journaling help.

Haha you just mentioned caffeine. Listening while writing.

[QueenZsWorld]

starting my day with prayer helps SO MUCH. just talking through things with God and journaling as I do so is incredible.

[KimberlyLetsGo]

I'm glad to know that I'm not alone!! And, that there is even a name for this! You rock! Thanks for sharing this valuable info. You little one is a cherub!!!

[dorianneutral]

Omg . It's not just me... I'm not alone.

[mimosaamk]

I wasn't aware that this was an actual thing. For over a year, after experiencing a few very stressful events in my life, I would be hit with an anxiety attack as soon as I became aware that I was awake in the morning. It was awful. My dreams reflected my emotions of the day and my day reflected my dreams. A horrible cycle that was hard to break. Appreciate all your informative videos. ❤

[shannontorrence]

YES! I was just talking with someone about how the minute I wake up, it's an anxiety avalanche that I can tell is a biological chemical reaction and not about anything rational. It's TERRIBLE. Thank you for addressing this. Adorable baby!

[REIAccelerator]

This is awesome! Praying everyone watching this truly learns to overcome! Emma has helped me to understand anxiety BIG TIME. I was told I would never come off Anxiety meds by the doctors from severe PTSD but through Faith and tactics like these I am completely off meds!

[evelynteles]

Hello to you who are reading this message, I want to leave this verse for you ❤️
For I know the plans I have for you, ' says the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
May God bless you and your family 🙏

[georginarandolphgirl]

I have major depression and generalized anxiety disorder and in EMDR therapy for past trauma and future fears. I pray when I first get up and do breathing exercises. I still feel unmotivated to do much and don't know know what I want out of life now that I am 55. I was in fight or flight survival mode for so many years and got burned out and then had full hysterectomy 9 years ago which triggered my anxiety disorder and depression and trauma and fears. In the last year an half I have been in collapse and freeze mode. Praying that it gets better with therapy.

[jenniferjordan]

I've always called it "morning dread." Breathing in to the count of 4 & out to the count of 7 has helped a LOT!