The Response of the Hormone Cortisol as a Biomarker of Stress and Its Influence on Blood Glucose Levels After 6 Weeks of Routine Tahajjud in Healthy Young Men

Yusni Yusni; Safrizal Rahman

doi:10.25217/0020247447700

Authors

Yusni Yusni Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2351-8027
Safrizal Rahman Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25217/0020247447700

Keywords:

cortisol, glucose, prayer, stress, Tahajjud

Abstract

Stress is a trigger for various metabolic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes; therefore, therapeutic approaches like tahajjud are necessary to control stress. The study was to determine the effect of tahajjud on cortisol as a marker of stress and its relation to glucose levels in healthy men. The research design was a randomized controlled trial. The subjects were male, Muslim, and healthy, with a total of 20 people and n=10 for each control and tahajjud group. Midnight prayer (8 rak'ahs tahajjud and four rak'ahs witir), duration 20-35 minutes, frequency 3-7 times/week, for six weeks as the treatment. Data analysis used descriptive analysis and a t-test (p < 0.05). The results showed an average percentage decrease in cortisol and blood glucose levels of 8.91% and 19.71%, respectively, following tahajjud. The mean cortisol and glucose levels before tahajjud did not differ substantially between the control and tahajjud groups (p = 0.336 and p = 0.808). On the other hand, cortisol and glucose levels in the tahajjud and control groups differed significantly after tahajjud (p = 0.031 and p = 0.004). Cortisol and blood glucose levels significantly dropped after six weeks of therapy (p = 0.005 and p=0.014), while cortisol levels increased slightly and were not significantly higher in the control group (p = 0.305 and p = 0.279). Tahajud prayer is a complementary and alternative therapy for stress by reducing cortisol hormone levels as a biomarker of stress and its responses to lowering blood glucose levels in healthy males.

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