In last month's article, Managing Stress, Part I, I explained why sleep is such a crucial element in our body's ability to manage stress and feel energized. That's because when we don't get enough sleep, we are unable to repair the body and the nervous system becomes fragile. Our brains get tired, too, because the waking state is highly consumptive.

Think of it this way: The brain uses a lot of energy when it's working. Staying awake too much is a bit like leaving all of the lights on and the appliances running in your house 24 hours a day. You're going to run your energy bill up really quickly. When you're awake, that means all of your body's systems are left on. In short order, you're going to create an energy deficit.

The Impact of Sugar and Caffeine

Once this happens, even when you do sleep, you'll wake up tired with all of your day's goals still in front of you. The common way that most people combat this sort of fatigue is to eat more sugar and drink more caffeine for quick energy. This starts a dangerous downward spiral that may look familiar to you:

1. You wake up tired but you've got a lot to do. You need a kick to get going.
   
   
2. You increase your intake of sugar, coffee, tea and/or refined carbohydrates such as boxed breakfast cereals, breads, jams or jellies.
   
   
3. You jump in your car and run off, but soon you start feeling hungry. You're busy and there's nothing substantial you can eat in the middle of it all so another coffee will do. If there's something quick, a vending machine snack maybe, or another piece of fruit, you can eat it on the go. Maybe you reach for one of those so-called sports bars, which are simply commercially manufactured C.R.A.P. usually marketed with photos of what I call, "fit sick people" on them!
   
   
4. Your blood sugar is now surging up with each addition of coffee and refined carbohydrates.
   
   
5. As your blood sugar rises and the caffeine kicks in, stress hormones are released in response to over stimulation of the fight or flight response. This triggers a series of chemical steps that result in glycogen, a form of sugar stored in your liver being converted to glucose (another form of sugar) to aid in the rapid get-away from the lion or tiger that your organs are sure must be chasing you.
   
   
6. Now you are literally swimming in sugar so insulin must be released to break it all down before it damages your nerve cells and other tissues. Soon, the insulin does its job, which you experience at some point as feeling tired, wired and hungry.
   
   
7. The drop in energy and increase in hunger usually begins the process all over again.
   
   
8. Often times, the cycle is capped off by a cup of coffee after dinner. You go to bed exhausted, but as a result of the caffeine and stress hormones it produces, you can't get a restful night's sleep.

The short-term consequences of this cycle will generally affect your energy level and your ability to concentrate, but there are more dangerous and long-term consequences as well. As the body stores the excess sugars and your adrenal glands get overworked from producing so many stress hormones, your pancreas fatigues from producing insulin and the normal ratio between stress, immune-regulating, and sex hormones becomes progressively disrupted. The outward signs of this begin to manifest as:

• An accumulation of fat around the belly button that spreads out from there
• Mood swings
• Difficulty concentrating
• Low energy
• Pains in the neck, shoulders, and lower back
• Weakened immune system often evidenced by frequent colds and minor illnesses
• Difficulty recovering from injuries

If any or all of this sounds familiar to you, take my 12 Signs of Adrenal Fatigue Quiz. And remember, while sugar or caffeine may feel like the perfect quick energy solution when you need one, they actually rob you of energy…and so much more…in the long term.

If you really want to get a handle on the stress in your life, start by decreasing caffeine and eliminating sugar. This will help you get the restful sleep you need so you can better handle whatever may occur in your day! For more tips on handling stress, download my article, How to Give Yourself to Whatever the Moment Brings and Forget Stress.

Ingo Logé is a clinical nutritionist and lifestyle educator who specializes in the creation of individual lifestyle and nutritional programs. With many offerings clients receive expert coaching, assistance and recovery with hormone imbalances, immune system dysfunction, sleep, stress and digestive issues, cleansing/detuning, revitalization, advanced food finger printing and metabolic typing, relief of chronic and acute symptoms, allergies, mind-emotion re–pattering (NLP) and therapeutic lifestyle coaching. Learn more at www.TheWellnessCSI.com.