What does breakfast have to do with anything?
Everything.
In the last post, we talked about setting a bedtime routine to get better sleep. This week we are going to talk about your setting up a daytime routine to support it. We’ll start with the morning.
Just like you’ve heard the saying you need 8-9 hours of sleep — I’m sure you’ve also heard “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.
Another old adage that we think is for someone else because, well…”my mornings are too crazy to squeeze in breakfast! Plus, I’m trying to lose weight.”
And if you are trying to savor every minute of sleep (because maybe you just fell asleep at 4:30), getting up a little bit earlier may sound ludicrous and counterproductive.
But here’s the deal.
Breakfast sets the tone for your day simply by its affect on your cortisol and blood sugar levels. Here’s how…
Your sleeping and waking cycle is controlled by a not-so-little hormone called cortisol. And cortisol has to be in a certain range to get you up in the morning and in a lower range to make you sleep at night. Now, cortisol does a lot more than regulate your sleep cycle.
Cortisol levels change throughout the day. Cortisol rises to its highest levels in the morning and then trends down like a rollercoaster to its lowest levels at night. It is very sensitive to your eating patterns, your stress levels and your activity throughout the day. But it has to stay on the rollercoaster for you to feel good. If it gets too high, you feel wired and if it gets too low, you’ll need a nap…fast!
Cortisol manages your energy by keeping your blood sugar (glucose levels) in check. When your blood sugar drops too low (not eating frequently enough), the adrenals pump out more cortisol. Cortisol then produces glucose to bring your blood sugar back in range.
In the morning, you are coming off a nightly fast – from the 8+ hours since your last meal. You need to eat something so that your blood sugar doesn’t dip too low and your adrenals don’t pump out cortisol. The extra cortisol in the morning leaves your overall cortisol levels higher than they should be. These higher cortisol levels will carry through throughout the day and into the night. Add to this other factors that can raise cortisol – like caffeine, skimping on another meal, and stress — from traffic, work, the kids, you name it — and you could end up with cortisol levels that are too high at night to allow you to fall asleep.
Remember cortisol needs to dip down to a certain range in order for you to feel sleepy.
Eating breakfast, not only prevents your adrenals from pumping out extra cortisol but also helps bring your cortisol levels down from the morning peak. It’s your first chance to give your adrenals a little love by saying ‘don’t worry, I’ve got the blood sugar thing covered’.
Eating breakfast also has a sort of domino affect too. Eating breakfast will help keep your blood sugar balanced and help you keep a healthy eating pattern during the day as well. You may find that you crave caffeine and sweets less. And if your blood sugar is balanced, you’ll also be better equipped to handle whatever stressor comes your way. And all that helps to keep cortisol in check.
I know mornings can be crazy! The thought of preparing and eating breakfast can seem overwhelming. The trick is to have it prepared the night before.
Here are my top 3 recommendations for an easy, stress-free breakfast:
- Fritatta – prepared a day or two earlier with leftover vegetables or freshly sautéed veggies. You can stick 1-2 days worth in the fridge and any remainder in the freezer. I recommend making a big batch. If you make enough to store in freezer, store it in the amounts you would need for one breakfast. Like, one or two squares or triangles. Then all you need to do is take out one package for one breakfast and stick it in the fridge. Overnight should be enough time to thaw it out. No need to reheat.
- Smoothie – again this can be prepared the night before. For optimal nutrients, preparing in the morning is better but preparing the night before is a nice compromise to not eating at all. The smoothie should include adequate protein and fat. Click here for my favorite breakfast smoothie.
- Leftovers – I know this may put some of you off but this is the absolute easiest to prepare. Make your leftovers into a salad and top it off with olive oil and a little apple cider vinegar to get your digestive juices flowing.
So, give breakfast a try. I’m sure you’ll find over time, you have more energy during the day and you’ll be ready for sleep at the right time at night.
My husband never eats breakfast and it drives me crazy. When we travel I have to remind him how grumpy I get if I don’t eat in the morning! Though I confess I also enjoy my morning cup of coffee. Yeah – I know the caffeine is not good – but one of the best moments in my day is that first sip of coffee.
I’m off to check out your smoothie recipes now…
Hi Sally, letting go of the morning coffee is one of the hardest things to do, especially if it’s the taste you enjoy. A cup every now and then is not bad. I recommend trying Roated Dandelion Tea or Dandy Blend for a similar taste profile. Add (any kind of) milk and maybe even a little coconut oil and it’s divine. Hope you like the smoothie! – Maria
Just wanted to let you know about a new product on the market that is great when trying to decrease the amount of coffee being consumed or get rid of coffee all together. I too enjoy that first taste of coffee in the morning very much and needed something as close to coffee as I could get. Crio Bru is a new product and is made from roasted cocoa beans. It is delicious and rich and 99.9% caffeine free. I do not work for Crio Bru, I am someone that really needs my coffee substitute to be as close to the real thing as I can get it so I thought I would share my new discovery. https://criobru.com/
Looks delicious! I will check it out. Thanks, Rachael!
I love breakfast food, but have been eating breakfast. I make my kids eat breakfast, but I am always running around doing something & then I run out of time to eat. My and the hubby have been taking about changing these habit. We need to start going to bed early and waking up early so we can get on the right track.
Going to bed early is a great start. You can also try preparing a breakfast the night before – like the smoothie or fritatta – so you can just grab it and eat. That makes a huge difference because there is no thought involved.
I’ve been a breakfast person for a while, and since having gestational diabetes a few years ago, I’ve been much better about eating a more balanced breakfast with some protein. Fritattas are great (and a great way to use up left overs). I also like to keep a big batch of seasoned black beans in the fridge, which I can quickly turn into a breakfast burrito.
Yes, protein is key. Black bean/breakfast burrito is a great idea!
what if I got up to late one day and ate breakfast later like 10 am or 11 am how do I balance my cortisol then for the day. What can I eat and when to fix my cortisol?
Maria, One day should not have a dramatic affect on your cortisol levels long-term. If you stay close to your regular eating times when you do wake up late, you should be able to recover quickly. Remember, the body likes consistency.
Just back from about a year of intermittent fasting. At first I never felt so good and energized. But it didn’t realize that it was because my body was over stressing to compensate and my cortisol level she probably made me so hyperactive during the day. But then, big crash. Insomnia, bad mood, depression, chronic infections, constipation and diarrhea came into play ! Yes my circadian rhythm was fucked up. I read the blood type diets whee Peter D’Adamo says that blood type A usually have higher cortisol levels than others and have a tendency to keep it elevated longer than others as well after a stress. Makes sense for me as I’m blood type A. It can explain also why a lot of people do feel great on intermittent fasting. Indeed he explains that blood type O ( and B to some extent) are very good at bringing down cortisol levels after stress. Explaining how they can manage that intermittent stress cycle.
Finally I read about Chinese medicine that recommend taking the main bulk of food in the morning. It perfectly correlate with the logic of circadian rhythm and cortisol management.
My end words: be aware of your cortisol sensitivity ! If your get troubles to calm down and sleep well, you should consider an early eating pattern.
Really interesting, Remy. We are all bio-individuals. Good for you for paying attention to what was going on with you… especially after the honeymoon period of a new diet. Thanks for sharing!