Persistent exposure to stressful situations can lead to high levels of cortisol in the body. Relaxation techniques, dietary changes, stopping smoking, and taking supplements are a few ways of managing or lowering cortisol levels naturally.
When a person is stressed, their adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol. In short bursts, this can help people adapt to stressful events or danger. Over long periods, though, high cortisol can be harmful.
For many, the most direct way of reducing cortisol is reducing stress. Lowering stress levels may mean the body makes less cortisol.
In other cases, high cortisol is the result of an underlying medical condition or a side effect of a medication. A doctor can advise on how to manage this.
What is cortisol and what do high levels feel like?
Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone. It contributes to many bodily processes:
controlling blood sugar levels
regulating the body’s sleep-wake cycles
managing how the body utilizes carbohydrates, fats, and proteins
reducing inflammation
controlling blood pressure
The body increases cortisol production as part of the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. This helps the body adapt to potential danger.
High cortisol puts the body in a state of alertness. A person may feel “on edge” or tense. This can affect a person’s ability to concentrate or sleep.
Sometimes, cortisol levels can become unusually high due to chronic stress or an underlying medical condition. Certain medications can also elevate this hormone.
What health conditions can high cortisol levels cause?
High levels of cortisol over a prolonged period can lead to:
irregular periods in females
absence of menstruation in females
mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression
Natural ways to lower cortisol
Typically, the brain and adrenal glands can regulate cortisol on their own. When stress has gone away, the body will stop making cortisol and the levels will return to normal.
However, people with chronic stress, certain medical conditions, or who take certain medications can have cortisol levels that are higher than usual. They may want to try some techniques for lowering cortisol, such as:
1. Lowering stress
Stress is a trigger for cortisol production, so lowering stress also lowers cortisol in many cases. People who want to lower their cortisol levels can try:
Setting priorities: To reduce stress, a person can try to avoid stressors where possible. People can do this by thinking about things in their life that cause stress and whether they are avoidable or unavoidable. For avoidable stressors, consider whether they are priorities. Anything that is not a priority could be something to give up.
Stress management: This involves learning to better cope with stress that is unavoidable. Some examples of this include mindfulness and self-help techniques.
Mental health care: When stress is the result of a mental health condition, such as anxiety, then mental health treatment may help reduce it. People can speak with a therapist to learn how to identify anxious thoughts and gradually replace them with more balanced ones.
2. Trying relaxation techniques
People experiencing stress can also try relaxation techniques. These are practices that activate the “relaxation response” as opposed to the stress response. This allows the body to stop producing stress hormones.
Some examples to try include:
breathing exercises
guided meditation
walking meditation
yoga or tai chi
visualization
3. Eating a balanced diet
A person trying to lower their cortisol levels should eat a balanced diet, paying particular attention to their sugar and caffeine intake.
4. Avoiding caffeine
People trying to lower their cortisol levels should avoid consuming food and beverages containing caffeine in the evening.
5. Getting enough sleep
A bad night’s sleep or more prolonged sleep deprivation can affect levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Getting adequate sleep and having a regular sleep-wake schedule may help reduce cortisol levels.
6. Maintaining a good bedtime routine
A good bedtime routine can be a useful tool for getting longer and higher-quality sleep. This may involve a combination of relaxing activities that help a person unwind, such as:
bathing or showering
stretching
reading a book or audiobook
journaling
meditating
reduction of screen time
7. Taking up a hobby
Hobbies can be both relaxing and rewarding, taking a person’s mind off stressors and giving them something to focus on.
Stress-relieving hobbies can include:
drawing or painting
crafting
cooking
creative writing
playing a musical instrument
8. Laughing and having fun
It is hard to feel stressed when having a good time, so finding time to have fun may also lower a person’s cortisol levels.
9. Exercising
Being physically active is beneficial to health and can improve a person’s mood. However, intense exercise can trigger an increase in cortisol levels, as this is the body’s way of coping with the additional stress that the exercise places upon it.
As a result, low- or moderate-impact exercise may be a good option for people with high cortisol levels.
10. Building good relationships
Stable, loving relationships with partners, friends, and family can be vital when it comes to leading a happy and fulfilled life, and they can help a person get through stressful periods.
If relationships are unhappy and unhealthy, they can cause a great deal of stress. If conflicts happen regularly, it may boost the well-being of everyone involved to try to resolve the cause.
11. Getting a pet
Some studies indicate that having a pet can lower cortisol levels.
12. Stopping smoking
There is some evidence that smoking may impact cortisol levels, as well as sleep quality.
13. Taking supplements
Many lifestyle changes can reduce cortisol levels. However, if they are not possible or not working to reduce the levels, the next step may be speaking with a doctor about supplements.
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Having too much cortisol in the blood can be damaging to health, particularly if cortisol levels remain high over an extended period. In many cases, the most direct way to lower it is to reduce things that trigger its production. For many people, this means reducing stress.
By making simple lifestyle changes to relax the nervous system and reduce exposure to stress, people may notice an improvement in their well-being.
In cases where high cortisol has links with an underlying condition or medication or does not respond to lifestyle changes, people should speak with a doctor.
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