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If you’re wakeful with a chattering mind in the early hours (me rn) it might help to know that daily cortisol (stress hormone) levels start to rise sharply at 2-3am & anxiety (eg caused by a pandemic) causes those early morning levels to be higher,
Result? Insomnia.
Result? Insomnia.
I had to leave my PhD in 1998 to get hardcore treatment for long term life-threatening black dog caused by a bunch of traumatic stuff. Depression & anxiety are terrible shits but academic papers (I love them) reveal how we can shift the balance of our own brain chemistry with...
...simple activities (& NHS treatment if severe obv). Low,angst-filled days arrive even when on antiDs/in therapy but the small changes we can make to our own mind recipes can keep thoughts away from the worst places (I’ve done this a LOT).
I tweet about nature & cortisol...
I tweet about nature & cortisol...
/dopamine bc a walk among plants/trees can shift both & lift mood. So can cuddling a dog,knitting,drawing ... If one of my tweets helps one person to tell doomy anxiety/black dog to eff off then I’ve managed to pass on what’s helped me & the failed scientist thing doesn’t matter.
If insomnia’s being a git here’s how to decrease your cortisol & maybe get more kip:
Listen to water/rain sounds
Listen to birdsong. @Natures_Voice birdsong radio app =
Watch a nature programme.Iplayer has massive stash
Look at a botanical reference book or my photos 
Listen to water/rain soundsListen to birdsong. @Natures_Voice birdsong radio app =Watch a nature programme.Iplayer has massive stashLook at a botanical reference book or my photos
Have a cup of teaTry meditation (the Calm app has Harry Styles reading stories atm 
)Stretching/yoga during the dayNestle with your dog.Their cortisol also drops & you both get a delicious hit of oxytocin, making you feel loved.All have been shown to lower cortisol.
