True or false Your levels of cortisol remain very low throug

True or false? Your levels of cortisol remain very low throughout the day, unless you are exposed to a stressor.

and why?

Solution

False. The level of cortisol in a normal person is high in the early morning this is called \'cortisol awakening\' then gradually decreases in late morning and till late evening where its low. This allows the body to keep a regular sleeping pattern, with cortisol level dropping for periods of sleep then replenshing during the following morning this is also termed diurnal rhythm.

With an exposer to stressor sor a short time there is a peak seen in cortisol in that point of time. For long term stressors like long stress or illness there is a constant increase in the level of cortisol throughout the day but if stress is prolonged for many days there is a irregularity observed in cortisol levels,this leads to various symptoms like lethargic, apathatic, fatigue and restlessness.

The true cause is unknown however the most probable cause is that the hippocampus in the process of its preparation to face anticipated stress directs the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) to release cortisol after a long sleep at night.