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Cortisol Rhythms and Complicated Grief
A paper explores the relationship between cortisol rhythms and grieving, showing that individuals experiencing complicated grief have a different cortisol pattern from that of emotionally healthy individuals. Cortisol is higher 45 minutes after waking and gradually drops in a healthy individual, while in individuals with complicated grief, there is a high cortisol pattern after waking, even higher 45 minutes later, and then reduction in cortisol by 4 pm.