A recent study that shows that adults who go to bed feeling overwhelmed with loneliness or sadness, wake up in the morning with a sudden boost of hormones to help them meet the demands of the coming day.

Elevated levels of cortisol – a stress hormone linked to depression, obesity and other chronic health problems – signal to the body that it is time to deal with negative emotions such as loneliness, according to Northwestern University’s Emma K. Adam, the lead investigator of the study.

Cortisol is often characterized as a negative hormone because of evidence, mostly in animal models, that long-term elevations could be potentially harmful to physical health. But in the short term the stress hormone can be adaptive and helpful.

It is believed that he morning cortisol boost could help adults who went to bed with troubled or overwhelming feelings go out in the world the next day and have the types of positive social experiences that help regulate hormone levels.

The study, “Day-to-day experience-cortisol dynamics,” was published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 2 Nov 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.