Cortisol Awakening Response

The article presents the morning cortisol window as a period when visceral fat can become temporarily available as fuel. The article presents the cortisol peak as a mobilization window rather than an ideal feeding window. The morning cortisol rise is a normal activation signal rather than the same thing as chronic stress cortisol. Breakfast skipping can disrupt cortisol rhythm, but this does not prove that eating at 7 AM is ideal. Disrupted cortisol awakening patterns are associated in the article with higher visceral fat levels than healthy sharp-spike-and-decline patterns. Cortisol rises before waking and typically peaks 30 to 45 minutes after waking. The cortisol awakening response is a normal morning cortisol spike that occurs within 20 to 45 minutes of waking. Waking normally triggers a cortisol rise within 30 to 45 minutes. Morning cortisol signals the liver to make glucose without food through gluconeogenesis. A healthy cortisol awakening response rises sharply above the overnight baseline and then declines through the day. Higher waking cortisol can increase liver glucose output and indirectly trigger insulin release even without eating. Eating during the cortisol peak can…