That which we call cortisol awakening response, by any other word would smell as sweet

2025/09/11 by Carmine M. Pariante · 1 voice
Neuroscience · #Stress Responses and Cortisol

paper · doi:10.1093/brain/awaf341

openalex publication_date 2025/09/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Carmine Pariante explores whether the cortisol awakening response truly reflects a stress response to awakening or is instead the continuation of a pre-awakening rise in cortisol. He argues that while the name may be misleading, the phenomenon remains important for understanding links between cortisol and mental and physical health.

Discussions

• A lovely commentary on our latest paper where we challenged the notion of the popular Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) as a response to awakening: "That which we call cortisol awakening response, by [bsky, 5 points, 0 comments]

Related

• Tomorrow's gonna suck. Today's stress anticipation predicts tomorrow's post-awakening cortisol increase
• Post-awakening cortisol and resilience: unravelling their impact on cognitive decline
• Use of cortisol as a stress marker: Practical and theoretical problems
• Novel Aspects of Glucocorticoid Actions
• Review: Central non-glucocorticoid inhibitors of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis