DHEA Protocol for Adrenal Stress and Restoring REM Sleep

Symptoms of adrenal stress may include exhaustion, fatigue, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, loss of energy and drive, anxiety, depression, and many others. Longer term, more serious endocrine disturbances can develop such as impaired blood sugar metabolism. Susceptibility to patterns of adrenal stress will increase with age, with overwork, with a lack of sleep, and with an over-reliance or chronic use of stimulants such as caffeine.

Besides for symptom patterns, adrenal stress may be best diagnosed via blood or saliva testing, which will reveal low levels of DHEA. Cortisol may be elevated during the early stages, and become depressed during the later chronic stages.

This article outlines a supplement protocol to specifically address DHEA levels. The primary symptom to be addressed by this program is restoring healthy sleep. Restoring DHEA can have a remarkable influence on the quality of deep REM stages of sleep. Once healthy sleep patterns are restored, other symptoms should start to improve significantly. If your symptoms include an inability to sleep deeply and to achieve vivid dreams such as when you were younger then you may want to try this. This protocol should be combined with lifestyle modifications, such as reducing caffeine intake, for the best longer term results. If there are other lifestyle factors interfering with sleep then this method of monitoring the program symptomatically, may be ineffective. The protocol is best utilized with before and after measurement of hormone levels. The goal is to restore depleted DHEA levels to a healthy normal level. Of course, this protocol is best implemented under the supervision of a healthcare wellness professional.

The program has two phases: a DHEA loading phase, which is restorative and is when the most dramatic improvements in sleep quality will be achieved due to the relief of the adrenal stress pattern. The second phase is a shift to DHEA maintenance dosing, which is critical to the long term success. The higher dosages utilized in the loading phase are not appropriate longer term.

The loading phase is intended to quickly restore DHEA levels to a normal or high-normal level, and this should be achieved in 1-2 weeks. The suggested starting dose of DHEA during the loading phase is approximately the number of milligrams equivalent to 75% of your body weight in pounds. So if you weigh 200 pounds the appropriate loading dose for the first night is 150 milligrams of DHEA. This dose is taken at bedtime. If you notice immediate sleep improvements start tapering the dose right away starting the second night. Taper the dose by 25 milligrams each night until at half the initial dose. Maintain that dose until dramatic reversal in symptoms indicates it is time to switch to maintenance dosing, which should be within 1-2 weeks. If you do not experience benefits during this stage either discontinue the program or consult you healthcare wellness professional. If the initial dose during the loading phase stimulates you and interferes with your sleep you are probably not a good candidate for this program, and may not be in a state of chronic adrenal stress. However, if your DHEA levels are confirmed low by blood testing you may want to consider a lower dose and/or switching to a morning protocol. Again, consult your healthcare wellness professional for guidance.

As DHEA levels are restored dramatic symptom relief will be experienced along with the improved sleep patterns. Generally within 10 days or so, energy will be restored to the point where the loading dose should be discontinued and switched to a maintenance dose. Paradoxically, if DHEA levels are pushed too high a reversal in symptoms can occur, with the increased level of alertness and energy actually resulting in too much stimulation, and less sleep. This condition will be a dramatic difference from the prior state of exhaustion, however, this is a good clue it is time to switch to a maintenance dose.

The best maintenance regimen is individualized and requires some experimentation, with the appropriate maintenance dose almost always less than 50mg/day, and perhaps as little as 10mg/day. The timing of the dosage may be switched to morning, or twice a day morning and evening. Blood levels of DHEA may be converted to other hormones in the body, and if DHEA levels are kept at excessive levels, this can negatively influence other endocrine functions. Therefore, the use of 7-keto-DHEA, a metabolite which has many of the benefits of regular DHEA, may be advisable longer term. Unlike DHEA, 7-keto-DHEA cannot be converted in the body to other hormones.

Also, if Cortisal is shown to be initially depressed along with DHEA, a morning dose of 50mg of Pregnenolone is a helpful adjunct to this program. Pregnenolone is the precursor to both DHEA and Cortisol.