While cortisol plays an important role in keeping you alert and energized, too much of it over time can leave you feeling anxious, fatigued, and even contribute to weight gain or sleep problems. Feeling stressed out all the time? It could be due to an increase in cortisol levels. In this guide, we’ll explore how to lower cortisol levels in 10 natural ways that you can try to restore balance physically and mentally.
Key Takeaways
- Chronic elevation of cortisol can cause fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and sleep problems.
- Stress, poor sleep, excessive caffeine, dehydration, and certain medications or health conditions can all increase cortisol levels over time.
- Techniques like deep breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, and spending time in nature can stimulate relaxation and reduce cortisol naturally.
- Eating a balanced diet rich in whole foods, healthy fats, and proteins, along with regular exercise, helps regulate cortisol and improve overall physical and mental health.
- Building strong relationships and engaging in enjoyable hobbies provide emotional support and distraction, helping to keep cortisol in check and improve resilience to stress.
What is Cortisol?
Commonly known as the stress hormone, cortisol, is actually more than that. It is also a steroid hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands, responsible for your body’s internal regulation of stress response, metabolism, inflammatory response, and your immune system [1]. Without proper control of cortisol, it can potentially lead to Cushing’s syndrome or Addison’s disease.
What Are the Symptoms of High Cortisol?
Elevated cortisol levels over a long period of time can refer to a condition known as Cushing’s syndrome. It leads to a range of symptoms, which may include [2]:
- Weight gain (mostly in the face and stomach)
- High blood pressure
- High blood sugar
- Thin or easily bruised skin
- Muscle weakness
- Headache
- Severe fatigue
- Slowed healing
Causes of High Cortisol Levels
There are a few different reasons why you might experience a cortisol level surge. Here are some of the known causes.
a) High stress
When a person experiences unexpected stress, it will activate the body’s sympathetic nervous system in response. The amygdala, the region of the brain that processes emotions and stimuli in particular, would send a stress signal to the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then sends a signal to the adrenal gland to produce cortisol, thus causing an increase in cortisol level.
The body’s release of cortisol is part of our fight or flight response, in preparation for potentially dangerous or harmful situations [2].
In a 2018 study, it was found that cortisol levels increased up to nine times when under extreme stress compared to a period of relaxation [3].
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Adrenal gland tumors can contribute to high cortisol levels. It can be benign or cancerous. Benign adrenal tumors are found in approximately 1 in 10 people who undergo an adrenal imaging test [4].
c) Side effects of medications
Some medications can also cause cortisol levels to increase. For instance, taking corticosteroid medications can lead to an increase in cortisol levels if they’re taken in high doses or for an extended period of time.
Typically, if you have been prescribed a corticosteroid, you should stick to what your doctor has prescribed and advised. You can taper off it gradually, provided that it is done based on your doctor’s recommendations.
10 Strategies to Naturally Lower Cortisol Levels
So this brings the question: how to lower cortisol levels naturally?
There are many ways to approach this, but here are the 10 strategies that we recommend for you to try:
1. Practice slow, deep breathing exercises
Deep breathing is often a technique recommended to help with stress reduction, and it can be easily done anywhere and anytime.
Practicing deep and controlled breathing exercises helps to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which in turn lowers cortisol naturally [5]. According to one study, including diaphragmatic breathing in your routine has a positive effect in lowering stress and cortisol levels [6].
2. Engage in mindfulness meditation practices
Mindfulness meditation practice has become an increasingly popular method for people to manage their stress levels. According to various researchers and psychologists, mindfulness meditation is found to be an effective method for reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. Not only that, but it also helps to improve physical health in terms of reducing pain, stress, and fatigue [7].
Mindfulness meditation involves giving your attention to what’s happening in the present moment. It’s about being aware of every feeling, thought, and breath that you have and every sensation that you feel in your body. Once you make these observations, you can then note all of these down without judgment and allow yourself to let them go.
Doing so is meant to help you learn how not to react to negative or unpleasant thoughts and reactions in times of stress.
3. Eat a balanced diet
Yes, your diet can also play an important role in helping you to manage stress and cortisol levels. For instance, consuming excessive amounts of added sugar can lead to an increase in cortisol while suppressing cortisol release in times of stress.
This can make it more likely for you to have a hard time handling stressful situations. Some foods that can help with stress management are dark chocolate, yogurt, green tea, whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fatty fish, nuts, and seeds.
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Exercising regularly can also help to decrease cortisol over time. Intense exercise would likely increase cortisol for a short period of time, which is then followed by reduced cortisol over a period of a few hours.
Besides that, regular physical activity is beneficial for your overall health. It helps to prevent chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. It improves your quality of life so that you can lead a happier life with little to no stress [8].
5. Prioritize getting 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep
When asking yourself how to lower cortisol levels, one of the most important determinants is overall sleep quality. Your sleep experience can increase or decrease cortisol. Those with sleep problems, such as insomnia, sleep apnea, tend to experience changes in their hormones, energy levels, and mental health [9].
If you’re a shift worker or an individual struggling to get a good 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep, you can consider establishing a consistent sleep schedule. Limit exposure to bright lights at night, avoid using your phone before you’re about to sleep, and try to form a good bedtime routine so that your body can prepare to wind down for bed.
6. Limit your caffeine intake
Caffeine is a stimulant that can increase cortisol secretion, whether at rest or during a stressful time. Caffeine causes glucocorticoid, catecholamine, and blood pressure levels to increase. This can contribute to higher blood pressure and stress response [10].
As it alters the body’s circadian rhythm and stress response, it’s important to avoid drinking too much caffeine from tea or coffee in a day. It’s best to limit to one to two cups a day and avoid consuming past early afternoon.
7. Stay well hydrated throughout the day
Staying well hydrated can keep your body away from an acute stress reaction. Mild dehydration can stress the body out, thus increasing cortisol. Try to drink at least 2–3 litres of water per day.
8. Spend more time in nature
Spending time in nature can help to reduce stress and anxiety, boosting feelings of happiness. According to the American Heart Association, reconnecting with nature plays a role in energizing our mind and body.
Dedicating only 120 minutes each week to spending time in nature can do wonders for our health and well-being [11].
9. Invest time in building supportive relationships
Humans are social creatures by nature. This means that we naturally crave and seek out connections with others. Spending our time cultivating strong, healthy relationships with our loved ones helps to protect against stress.
Having people that you can reach out to and confide in during a challenging time in your life can be beneficial, as they provide a sense of emotional support. It can help you to better cope with the temporary stressors that you face [12].
10. Engage in your favorite hobbies
Scheduling time to engage in your favorite hobbies can also be a huge stress reliever. It acts as a distraction from the things that you may worry about, and releases endorphins so that you feel relaxed.
Some relaxing hobbies that you may want to consider are reading, gardening, journaling, coloring, dancing, or knitting.
The Final Takeaway: Supporting Healthy Cortisol Levels
Making small, consistent changes such as eating balanced meals, staying active, and finding moments of calm each day can go a long way in supporting both your mind and body.
If you’re ready to take the next step in building healthier habits, Eato makes it simple. The Eato app offers everything you need to stay balanced, energized, and on top of your health, minus the stress. Figure out how to lower cortisol levels, stress-free. Try it now, free for a limited time only!
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