I know high cortisol levels are normally an A and B concern, but I often wonder if that is an issue for me as well. I have many "A like" agitations (the list of stressors for A's are me to a T) and sleeping remains a challenge. I attended the conference in May, and barely slept the two days I was there! This issue is a particular challenge when I am in a stimulating environment or out of my element.

I have been taking catechol for a few years and have often wondered if cortiguard could help me and whether I should remain taking catechol as well.

Although I am not usually tired during the day, (unless out of my element and have had next to no sleep) my body deserves to sleep.

Just as an FYI, I think I already tried every suggestion on this board for sleep, including the long list of supplements, and even the low blue light glasses. Nothing has really changed, so we don't need to go there!

I am curious if there are any Type O's who have benefited from Cortiguard or if this supplement can help O's?

Lisa

I did not sleep either Lisa... overstimulation.

Try it and see how it goes, makes sense.

How much exercise do you do?

Hunters need lots and then lots more.

You might check out Hunter Activator.

The Holy Basil does wonders for me. (Dr. N recommended based on SNP's and an inquiry about holy basil supplements.)

http://www.4yourtype.com/prodinfo.asp?number=GT1ACT

I get a lot of exercise. I even "upped" it recently by adding P90X to try to exhaust myself. Zumba and Forza (one hour each per week), as well as weight training, jogging and P90X. It can be a challenge for me to make time for all this exercise! Plus, all the food I need to eat to keep fueled because my body is so effecient at burning calories. Sometimes it feels like inbetween exercising and eating, I fit everthing else in!

Thanks, Angela but I have done the Hunter Supplements for several months in the past and they didn't seem to change anything as far as this issue was concerned.

Are you Dr. D's patient? Might shoot the clinic an email.

No but I did read all types could take this supplement even though it will mostly benefit A's and B's. I was just wondering if any O's had any feedback.

Wholefoodie, does one of your parents have blood type A? Just curious as my Dad is an O- explorer and I have many things in common with him...number one is the sinus/allergy issue that my A Mom does not have.

I have taken cortiguard for almost one year. the few times I've skipped a dose I can tell. The A stressors you mentioned are also "me to a T"! Cortiguard is great in my book!

From my reading of the description of Cortiguard, it sounds like it's safe for all types, but it addresses  a problem that's most common for As and ABs. Os with high cortisol levels is a less common concern, so it won't help as many Os. If you're an O with high cortisol levels, then this supplement would probably be helpful.

I'm not sure about taking it with Cachetol vs taking it instead of Cachetol. I'd contact DPN via phone or email and ask them.

Another approach to the problem would  be to figure out why you're so stressed. If you can reduce the source of stress, you reduce the cortisol production. Stress isn't so much "what happens around or to you,"  but how your brain reacts to those outside stressors. Bach Flower Remedies can be very helpful in "retraining your brain" to see the world differently; stop re-stressing yourself out over old issues, and react appropriately to new stressors.

Cajun, my mom is an O and dad (deceased) was supposedly an O as well. (His two sisters are AB so his parents would have to have been Ao and Bo).

Ruthie-stressors, that has been baffling for ever! Been the Bach Flowers route, meditate regularly and don't really have any reason to stress but I am thrown off by all those things on the Type A list, like crowds, loud noises, violent movies, etc. The vast majority of the time I am without stress.

Currently, I am investigating "brain entrainment." I have a demo disk and will see if that makes any difference. Cortiguard remains on the list of things to try.

Thanks for the replies!

You may need to play around with the Bach remedies. If you used them in the past with only limited success, you may need a different combination of remedies than you tried last time. Aspen is particularly good for "being overly sensitive to random stimuli in the environment" as well as being for "vague fears."

Thanks, Ruthie. You are always a wealth of information! I will look into those. The one I tried was white chestnut with zero results. Aspen sounds interesting.

Get out a book, or a few books, about Bach Flower Remedies from your public library. The remedies work best in combination with one another- but it takes some thought to figure out the right combination for you. And the "right combination" can change over time. Some remedies (such as impatiens) I seem to need to keep taking long term. Another one, Centuary (for being meak and letting people walk all over you) I only needed once. But that one time I took it (for a few weeks in a row) really helped me stand up to my kids and not feel so resentful about their demands on me. For me, "being walked all over" was a temporary thing, not a deep-seated issue.

Lisa, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in other threads about sleep so I apologize if this is redundant--Transcendental Meditation (which Dr. D has also recommended). It releases stress on such a deep level that daily practice would help you a great deal with the sleep issue. I remember the first time I learned it, I immediately slept longer than I had been able to. It was as if the body was automatically "reset" and given the right amount of sleep that it deserved. I have heard that one guy even fell asleep for 24 hours straight after having learned the technique and practiced it once. He had been previously sleep deprived and could hardly sleep at all.

Besides "resetting" the sleep mechanism, the meditation practice itself gives you such deep rest, the quality of which is much higher than what sleep can provide. So, for example, what you get out of the 20 minutes of meditation would be much higher quality rest than what you would normally get out of a night's sleep (not to say that one thing can replace the other; but the quality is different as you would be in a different state of consciousness, the transcendental consciousness). Hope this helps. You can find out more information at http://www.tm.org.

Hypnosis CD's might also be helpful. My Hunter hubby likes them sometimes. I am a tad jealous of how he has an "on" switch in the morning and I have to ease into the day a bit. Well, I don't have to and can retrain myself, but this way is natural to me.

AKArtlover, I am the same as your Hunter husband. I have an "on" switch in the morning whereas my "A" husband eases into the day very very slowly. By the time I'm having lunch, he's ready for a real breakfast, !

Quoted from balletomane

Lisa, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in other threads about sleep so I apologize if this is redundant--Transcendental Meditation (which Dr. D has also recommended). It releases stress on such a deep level that daily practice would help you a great deal with the sleep issue. I remember the first time I learned it, I immediately slept longer than I had been able to. It was as if the body was automatically "reset" and given the right amount of sleep that it deserved. I have heard that one guy even fell asleep for 24 hours straight after having learned the technique and practiced it once. He had been previously sleep deprived and could hardly sleep at all.

Besides "resetting" the sleep mechanism, the meditation practice itself gives you such deep rest, the quality of which is much higher than what sleep can provide. So, for example, what you get out of the 20 minutes of meditation would be much higher quality rest than what you would normally get out of a night's sleep (not to say that one thing can replace the other; but the quality is different as you would be in a different state of consciousness, the transcendental consciousness). Hope this helps. You can find out more information at http://www.tm.org.

Very interesting. Perhaps the very thing I've been looking for. I'll definitely look into it more.

Oh, and Foodie, I think you might benefit from Cortiguard. I have an A mother and O father and it helps me stay asleep (or fall asleep faster when I wake up in the middle of the night).

I have enjoyed meditation for years and currently am using the Brain Evolution system, a brain entrainment program. I recently discovered what this is about and find it fascinating. I am only on day 3 of a 6 month program and am hoping this may help me as well.

It is the same technology of the more popular (and much more expensive) Holosync program.