How to Heal from Adrenal Fatigue

When my second daughter was about eight months old, I realized something had changed with my health. I was waking up with barely any energy, and after my morning coffee, my energy dropped completely, and I was overcome by brain fog. I found myself lying on the couch to rest and regain my strength most days. I wasn’t sleeping through the night because I had to wake and feed my daughter every few hours, but it took a while for me to understand this was more than “newborn sleep deprivation.”

I noticed my energy would suddenly come back late at night, around 10 or 11 pm. I would stay up even later because it was the only time I felt well enough to get anything done. This led to me sleeping in until 10 am with the baby each morning. I had always been a “morning person,” so I felt like I was missing out on my favorite part of the day, and I wished I knew how to reset my body so I could wake up early and feel good again.

When my symptoms began to worsen, and I also began having anxiety attacks, I sought out a functional medicine doctor. He suggested that I had adrenal fatigue and that my circadian rhythm, the normal wake/sleep cycle coordinated by hormones like cortisol and melatonin, had shifted. My body was worn out and confused. At this time, I didn’t know why, but he told me there is always a reason. 

What Are the Adrenal Glands?

The adrenal glands are small, walnut-sized glands that sit atop the kidneys. Their purpose is to produce more than 150 types of hormones! Some common root causes of adrenal fatigue are: stealth infections like Epstein-Barr or Lyme disease, heavy metal toxicity, mold exposure, stressful experiences like the death of a loved one, reliance on caffeine or energy drinks, and leaky gut (which can further be explored to determine the cause).

Adrenal Fatigue Symptoms & Causes

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue or insufficiency include: cravings for salt or sugar, brain fog, shakes that improve after eating, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), energy dips and spikes at unusual times of day, muscle aches, mood swings, and exhaustion after exercise.

I later discovered that I had been exposed to toxic mold, I had a chronic stealth infection in my stomach, I relied on coffee and sweet treats to get me through the day, and my body couldn’t handle those stressors on top of the sleepless nights. As moms know, once children are born into the family, sleepless nights quickly become a regular occurrence! I hadn’t slept through the night more than twice in 4 years by the time it was all said and done. In talking with my chiropractor, we found out my spine was quite misaligned, adding to the constant stress on my nervous system. The sum of all these stressors was just too much for my body.

How I Began to Heal

I began by cutting coffee completely out of my life since it strongly stimulates the adrenal glands. I had gone from being able to drink 3 cups a day in my early 20’s to having anxiety attacks after just one cup a day in my late 20’s. By cutting coffee out, my anxiety attacks quickly subsided, and my energy levels began to improve.

Next, I considered my commitments to family, friends, work, and church. I had to remove some things from my calendar in order to give myself time to rest properly and adjust to a new sleep schedule. I stopped staying up late after my kids fell asleep instead of falling asleep as soon as they did (they were born night owls, often falling asleep at 9 or 10 pm). I began waking up just a little earlier, and with more energy.

Instead of exercising in the evening, I started to exercise gently in the morning, to take advantage of the natural energy provided after a workout. This also helped regulate my hormones.

With my diet, I aimed to eat foods that would not raise my blood sugar unnaturally high. I gradually traded processed snacks for homemade ones, because the work of regulating blood sugar too frequently can tax the adrenal glands and take energy away from healing.

I made sure to spend time outdoors every day, barefoot as often as possible to reconnect with the earth’s electrical field, and with the wake/sleep cycle that is prompted by sunshine. Watching the sunrise and set each day became a priority because this aided my hormones in functioning properly and helped me feel tired at night and energized in the morning.

Finally, I took a supplement to stimulate cortisol production first thing in the morning when cortisol levels are naturally supposed to rise. This way, I would feel energized in the morning and sleepy at night again. 

Small Changes Make All the Difference

As you can see, it wasn’t one simple fix that helped me feel like myself again. The smallest changes added up to a big thing--the restoration of health to my adrenal glands. It can seem impossible to quit drinking coffee or to ever feel strong and energetic again, but I encourage you that it is possible! The choice to change your health is always in your hands.