Caffeine, Cortisol, and the Overwhelmed Mom: Why Coffee Spikes Anxiety and What To Do

Motherhood creates a chronically elevated stress baseline due to sleep disruption, constant multitasking, emotional labor, and the mental load that never ends. All of this pushes the adrenals to produce more cortisol, which is intensified by caffeine, and can contribute to symptoms commonly labeled as adrenal fatigue.