How Your Genes Impact Overnight Glucose Regulation and Sleep Patterns After 45

If your morning glucose feels higher than expected — or your energy shifts dramatically depending on how well you slept — this episode will help connect the dots. In the final episode of the Glucose & Insulin by Design series, Lauri breaks down how sleep, cortisol, and genetics work together to shape your overnight glucose rhythm.

You’ll learn how:

• Nighttime cortisol affects your morning glucose
• Sleep stages influence insulin sensitivity and recovery
• Midlife hormone changes reshape your stress rhythm
•  Key genes like COMT, SOD2, and PPARGC1A impact overnight repair and energy
• Simple shifts can support a steadier morning pattern
  
  

This episode is especially helpful if you’ve noticed the “wired at night, sluggish in the morning” cycle, early-morning glucose spikes, or changes in how your body responds to stress and sleep after 45.

View the first article in the "Understanding Genomics" series, Genetics vs. Genomics: The Difference — and Why It Matters After 45

Visit my website at inspiredlivingforwomen.com to find out more about me and what I do.

Get your free guide, The Oxygen Connection, to see how oxygen use, genetics, and glucose metabolism work together to shape steady energy after 45.

Chapters

• 0:00 Series Finale Setup
• 0:50 The Morning Glucose Mystery
• 1:28 Sleep As Metabolic Work
• 2:08 Midlife Hormones And Cortisol Rhythm
• 2:39 Genes Shaping Night Recovery
• 3:20 Everyday Patterns To Notice
• 4:12 Precision Habits For Stable Mornings
• 6:02 Key Takeaways And Next Steps

Transcript

0:00 Intro Music
Your Genes by Design Podcast with Lauri Wakefield

00:31 — Welcome And Series Context
Hi, I’m Lauri. Thanks so much for joining me today. This is the seventh and final episode in the Glucose and Insulin by Design series. The first seven were designed to stay focused on one topic: glucose and insulin and the genes that influence them. In future episodes, I’ll be alternating topics so there’s more variety in what you hear.

Today we’re going to look at something almost every woman over 45 wonders about at some point: Why does my blood sugar seem higher in the morning even when I haven’t eaten since the night before? And why does sleep feel so different than it used to — especially when the next-day crash feels stronger now?

If you’ve seen that early-morning rise or felt sluggish even after a full night’s sleep, this episode will help connect sleep, cortisol, glucose, and your genes.

01:21 — Why Morning Glucose Rises
We tend to think of sleep as rest — as if nothing much is happening. But metabolically, sleep is one of the busiest times of your entire day. Your body is clearing out stress chemistry, bringing cortisol back to baseline, resetting insulin sensitivity, rebalancing appetite hormones, repairing tissues and mitochondria, and preparing your brain and metabolism for the morning.

All of that work requires energy. So your body releases glucose through the night to fuel the process. This is why glucose can rise overnight even without food. It’s also why some mornings feel steady and others feel wired or irritable. That rise isn’t a problem — it’s your body doing what it needs to do.

01:59 — Midlife Hormones And Nighttime Rhythm
After 45, one of the biggest shifts is how your body coordinates cortisol and sleep. Estrogen supports insulin sensitivity, deeper sleep, and the evening wind-down process. When estrogen fluctuates, that rhythm becomes easier to disrupt.

It’s not that stress is always higher — it’s that your stress rhythm becomes more reactive. Sleep becomes a major part of glucose regulation because it sets the tone for your entire 24-hour metabolic cycle.

02:39 — Genes That Influence Overnight Repair
A few genes play a noticeable role in how smoothly your body transitions from daytime stress to nighttime repair.

COMT is your stress-clearing gene. When COMT runs on the slower side, adrenaline and stimulation linger longer at night. That can look like a racing mind at bedtime, difficulty relaxing, or waking up in the middle of the night. And when stress chemistry stays elevated, glucose often stays elevated too.

SOD2 is your mitochondrial repair gene. It helps your cells clear oxidative stress overnight. When SOD2 runs more slowly, you may wake up with that “hungover but I didn’t drink” feeling, and it can contribute to higher morning glucose because your cells didn’t fully reset.

PPARGC1A is your mitochondrial efficiency gene. It influences how effectively your body shifts into repair mode at night. Stronger PPARGC1A function supports steadier overnight glucose. A less active version can leave morning energy feeling flat even with plenty of sleep.

Each one shapes how your system recovers during the night and how you feel when you wake up.

03:24 — Everyday Signs Of Your Nighttime Rhythm
You may notice the effects of these genes in small everyday moments. Maybe you fall asleep easily but wake in the middle of the night. Maybe your brain feels alert at night even when you’re tired. Morning glucose might be your highest reading of the day. You might wake up groggy despite eight hours of sleep, or crave carbs late at night or first thing in the morning. And on days after poor sleep, you might feel more wired, anxious, or irritable.

None of this is random. These patterns make sense once you look at cortisol, sleep, and genetics together.

03:51 — Precision Habits For More Stable Mornings
Here’s the precision piece. These habits help support a steadier overnight glucose rhythm, especially in midlife.

A consistent evening wind-down window makes a real difference. Light, noise, stimulation, and intensity all influence how well your body clears stress chemistry.

Meal timing matters too. Late meals — especially higher-sugar meals — hit harder in the evening because insulin sensitivity naturally drops. The same meal affects you differently at nine o’clock than it does at five.

Caffeine timing matters, particularly if your COMT gene runs slower. Even decaf can influence cortisol sensitivity for some women.

Protecting your circadian rhythm is another anchor. Dimmer lights in the evening and morning sunlight when you wake up help stabilize cortisol far more than most people expect.

Building in recovery buffers on stressful days also helps. If you have slower COMT or a more reactive SOD2 pattern, stress lingers longer in your system. Even ten or fifteen minutes of decompression can reset the rhythm.

And finally, supporting mitochondrial repair helps you wake up clearer. That might look like evening meals with protein and healthy fats instead of only carbs, an earlier caffeine cutoff, and steady daily movement — not intensity, just consistency.

05:43 — The Pattern Behind Your Mornings
Your body works hard overnight. Sleep isn’t passive — it’s the metabolic reset that shapes your energy, clarity, and glucose stability the next day. After 45, the way your body responds to sleep starts to shift because your hormones and genes interact differently than they used to.

Once you understand your own pattern, everything starts to make more sense — the way your mornings feel, the cravings that show up, the energy you have throughout the day. And the choices you make start to match how your body actually works.

06:33 — Resources And Closing
That’s going to wrap things up for this episode. If you’re interested in learning more about genomics and how it shapes your everyday patterns, follow the Your Genes by Design podcast.

If you’re curious about your own gene variants, I link to a short Substack series in the show notes that explains how to get started. And if you’d like to learn more about me or the work that I do, you can visit my website at inspiredlivingforwomen.com.

Thanks again for joining me, and have a great day.