Tired, Restless & Craving Salt? What’s Going On With Your Adrenals

If you often feel restless yet tired, struggle to get going in the morning, or crash mid-afternoon, your adrenal glands may be working overtime. These two small glands above your kidneys play a far bigger role in how you feel than most people realise. They help your body handle stress, maintain energy, regulate blood pressure, and influence hormones, sleep, and mood.

Modern life asks a lot from the adrenals — early mornings, late nights, caffeine, deadlines, emotional pressure, and constant stimulation. Over time, the system that’s meant to protect you from short bursts of stress can become overworked, leaving you feeling tired, anxious, flat, or struggling to recover.

The adrenals drive what’s known as the body’s fight-or-flight response — the survival system that releases adrenaline and cortisol whenever we face a challenge or stress. It’s meant to switch on briefly, then settle once the pressure eases. But when life keeps the alarm ringing, that constant state of readiness begins to wear the body down.

The Wired and Tired Cycle

At first, the body copes — short bursts of stress keep you sharp and alert. But when stress becomes constant, the adrenals stay switched on, releasing cortisol and adrenaline long after they’re needed. Eventually, our healthy natural rhythm starts to break down: mornings feel heavy, energy dips mid-afternoon, and the mind stays alert when it’s time to rest.

This “wired and tired” pattern shows what happens when the stress response gets stuck in overdrive. You feel exhausted yet unable to relax, restless even when tired. It’s as if the body has forgotten how to shift from action back into recovery — and that’s when true adrenal fatigue begins to take hold.

Salt Cravings and the Adrenals

When people crave salt, it’s often their body trying to communicate. The adrenals produce a hormone called aldosterone, which helps control sodium, potassium, and fluid balance. During prolonged stress, aldosterone can drop, causing the body to lose more sodium in urine — and that triggers salt cravings.

This is why people under long-term stress often say, “I can’t get enough salt,” or feel light-headed when standing up quickly. A pinch of good quality sea salt in water can sometimes help in mild cases, but supporting the adrenals themselves is the key to restoring proper balance.

Sleep as Adrenal Medicine

Nothing restores the adrenals quite like quality sleep, yet stress is one of the biggest obstacles to it. Cortisol — our main stress hormone — should naturally fall in the evening so the sleep hormone melatonin can rise. But when the mind is busy with worry, tension, or constant stimulation from screens and devices, cortisol stays elevated and the brain struggles to switch off. For some, that means lying awake for hours unable to drift off; for others, it’s falling asleep easily but waking around 1 or 2 am with a racing mind and restless body.

Establishing a regular bedtime, dimming lights, and keeping phones and screens out of the bedroom all help retrain the body’s sleep–wake rhythm. Herbs such as Ashwagandha and Rehmannia, found in NatroVital Adrenal Support, are traditionally valued for helping the body unwind after stress, supporting a calmer mind and deeper, more restorative rest.

For those who lie awake feeling tense or anxious, NatroVital Cortisol Calm offers added support. It combines Bacopa, Ginkgo Biloba, Skullcap, St John’s Wort, and Ashwagandha — herbs traditionally used to help quiet mental chatter, settle the nervous system, and encourage natural, peaceful sleep.

Caffeine and Sugar – Borrowed Energy

When you’re running on empty, caffeine and sugar can seem like quick fixes — a morning coffee to get going, an afternoon sweet to stay awake. But these are only temporary boosts. They push your adrenals to work harder, releasing more stress hormones to keep you going when your body really needs rest.

That “can’t function without coffee” feeling or afternoon crash isn’t a lack of willpower — it’s your body running on borrowed energy. Swapping stimulants for real nourishment — balanced meals, magnesium, B vitamins, and wholefood snacks — helps restore natural energy instead of chasing artificial highs and then lows.

MagExcel provides easily absorbed magnesium to calm the nervous system, ease muscle tension, and support relaxation after stress. B-Complete supplies the full spectrum of B vitamins that the adrenals rely on to convert food into usable energy, regulate mood, and support the body’s stress-response system. Together, they help restore vitality, mental clarity, and the ability to handle daily demands without feeling drained.

Adrenals and Menopause

Many women are surprised to learn that their adrenal glands play a major role in how their body navigates menopause. As the ovaries gradually reduce hormone production, the adrenals are meant to take over part of the job. But when they’re already exhausted from years of stress, caffeine, lack of sleep, or overwork, they simply can’t keep up — and that’s when symptoms often intensify.

Hot flushes that hit harder, night sweats that disrupt sleep, irritability, low mood, anxiety, vaginal dryness, and fatigue are all signs the adrenals are struggling to carry the hormonal load. When the adrenals are supported, this transition tends to be far smoother — emotions feel more balanced, sleep becomes more restorative, and the body copes more comfortably with hormonal changes.

Supporting the adrenals before and during menopause isn’t a luxury — it’s essential. Herbs such as Rehmannia, Ashwagandha, and Schisandra, found in Adrenal Support, are traditionally used in herbal medicine to nurture adrenal strength, ease the body through hormonal changes, and support a calmer, more comfortable menopause experience.

Adrenals and Immunity

It’s common to see people catch a cold or pick up infections after periods of stress. When the body is under pressure, it diverts energy and nutrients away from long-term defences like the immune system to deal with immediate demands. If stress continues, the immune response weakens, making it easier for bugs to take hold and harder for the body to bounce back.

The adrenal glands rely heavily on vitamin C to make their stress hormones. In fact, they store more vitamin C than any other organ in the body. During periods of stress, those stores are rapidly used up, which can leave less vitamin C available for immune cells that depend on it to fight off bugs. Replenishing vitamin C helps both systems recover — the adrenals regain the nutrients they need to regulate stress hormones, and the immune system regains strength to defend against illness.

Vitamin D also plays a vital role after stress. It supports the production of immune cells and helps calm excessive inflammation, which can linger when the body has been under long-term strain. Together, these two nutrients help rebuild physical strength, restore healthy energy levels, and support the body’s natural recovery after demanding times.

NatroVital Liposomal C & D combines both vitamins in a highly absorbable form to restore what stress depletes, supporting immune health while easing the ongoing load on your adrenals.

Adrenals and Ageing

Ageing itself doesn’t weaken the adrenals — years of accumulated stress do. The longer the body stays in “fight or flight” mode, the more it drains the energy reserves needed for repair and recovery. Over time, this can show up as slower wound healing, reduced stamina, poor sleep, or that feeling of being worn out even after rest.

Many people assume these changes are just part of getting older, but much of it comes down to an adrenal system that’s been overworked for decades. When the adrenals are supported, energy feels steadier, the mind clearer, and recovery from daily demands becomes easier — regardless of age.

Supporting adrenal health as we age isn’t about fighting the clock; it’s about staying strong, adaptable, and engaged in life. Gentle movement, deep breathing, nourishing meals, and calming herbs such as Holy Basil, Rhodiola, and Siberian Ginseng can help maintain energy and focus without overstimulation, allowing the body to age with greater ease and vitality.

Adrenals and Blood Pressure

The adrenal glands play a central role in maintaining blood pressure through hormones such as aldosterone and cortisol. Aldosterone helps the body manage sodium and water balance, while cortisol supports healthy circulation and vascular tone. When the adrenals are under stress, these hormones can lose rhythm — sometimes causing pressure to rise, other times letting it fall too low.

Many people under long-term stress notice these swings — feeling light-headed when standing, tired after exertion, or sometimes experiencing a flushed face, a pounding heartbeat, or a sense of pressure in the head. These sensations often reflect an adrenal system that’s struggling to maintain balance rather than a fixed blood pressure problem.

Herbs such as Liquorice Root can be valuable for those whose pressure tends to dip, helping the body retain essential minerals and maintain better circulation. In NatroVital Adrenal Support, Liquorice is used in small, balanced amounts alongside herbs like Rehmannia and Ashwagandha to gently nourish the adrenals and support healthy regulation without overstimulation.

This balanced approach is suitable for most people with fluctuating or low blood pressure. For individuals with consistently high readings, your healthcare practitioner can help assess whether adrenal support is appropriate. Combined with hydration, mineral-rich foods, stress management, and good sleep, these herbs work to restore the body’s natural ability to regulate blood pressure and maintain healthy energy throughout the day.

Resetting the Stress Response

It may seem simple, but the way we breathe has a direct effect on the adrenals and the entire stress system. Fast, shallow breathing tells the brain we’re in danger, keeping cortisol and adrenaline levels high and the body on alert. Slow, deep breathing through the nose sends the opposite message — it activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the body’s natural “rest and repair” mode, signalling the adrenals that it’s safe to slow down.

Practising calm, rhythmic breathing for just a few minutes each day helps retrain the nervous system and bring the body back into balance after prolonged stress. When paired with deep, restful sleep, nourishing foods, and adrenal-supportive herbs and nutrients, it creates a strong foundation for lasting recovery and more consistent energy throughout the day.

Natural Support for the Adrenals

When stress has been ongoing, the aim isn’t to “boost” your adrenals but to give them the space and nourishment to recover. These small glands already know how to restore balance — they just need the right support to get back on track. That means time, rest, and a blend of nutrients and herbs that strengthen rather than stimulate.

NatroVital Adrenal Support combines eight herbs traditionally used to help the body adapt to ongoing stress, recover from fatigue, and restore balanced, natural energy:

• Astragalus helps strengthen the body when energy feels depleted. It’s traditionally used to restore vitality after exhaustion, supporting immune and adrenal recovery so the body can better cope with ongoing demands.
• Holy Basil brings calm to the nervous system, easing the mental and emotional tension that often keeps the adrenals switched on. By helping to quiet the stress response, it allows the body to move more easily from a state of alert into rest and repair.
• Liquorice Root supports the adrenal glands by helping the body keep cortisol — the main stress and energy hormone — within a healthy range. By slowing the breakdown of cortisol, it helps extend its effects, which not only maintains energy but also reduces the workload on the adrenals, allowing them to recover rather than burn out. Liquorice also helps the body hold on to key minerals like sodium and potassium, improving blood volume and circulation — which can ease light-headedness, weakness, or fatigue that often follow stress or low blood pressure.
• Rehmannia is deeply restorative to the adrenal glands and nervous system. It nourishes tissues that have been depleted by long-term stress, helping rebuild strength rather than simply masking fatigue. In traditional herbal medicine, Rehmannia is used to replenish vitality, calm the body’s stress response, and support recovery after exhaustion or illness. Its gentle, grounding nature makes it one of the key herbs for long-term adrenal repair.
• Rhodiola helps the body adapt to ongoing physical and mental pressure. It promotes endurance, mental clarity, and emotional balance, supporting natural energy levels without putting extra strain on the adrenals.
• Siberian Ginseng supports stamina and helps maintain lasting energy throughout the day without overstimulation. Traditionally used to improve endurance and recovery, it helps the body handle ongoing stress and bounce back more easily.
• Schisandra works as a gentle restorative, supporting liver and adrenal function while enhancing focus and vitality. Its balancing effect helps sustain alertness without draining energy reserves.
• Ashwagandha is known for its ability to calm while strengthening. It nourishes the adrenal glands, supports restful sleep, and helps the body restore strength after ongoing stress or depletion.

Used together with NatroVital MagExcel, Liposomal C & D, and B-Complete, this approach nourishes the entire stress network — the adrenals, the nervous system, and the body’s recovery pathways — helping you rebuild strength and feel balanced again from the inside out.

The Takeaway

If you’re constantly running on empty, craving coffee or salt, sleeping poorly, or struggling to cope with everyday demands, your adrenals might simply be asking for support. They’ve been looking after you through every deadline, late night, and emotional rollercoaster — maybe it’s time to look after them.

Small, consistent steps make a real difference. Nourishing meals, good sleep, deep calm breathing, time outdoors, and herbal and nutritional support all help the body unwind and restore its natural rhythm. As the adrenals recover, energy returns more evenly, mood improves, and the body begins to feel in sync again.

Your adrenals may be small, but they quietly shape how you meet each day — your focus, your drive, and your ability to recover. When they’re cared for, life simply feels easier to handle.