All about Cortisol: Your Guide to Natural Stress Reduction

You’re in a stressful situation, your heart is racing, you feel super alert, maybe even a little anxious. Chances are your body is charging with cortisol.  This hormone is released as part of our fight or flight system and gives you the energy to get out of danger. But when it's triggered daily by stress, cortisol levels can get out of balance.  

Discover: 

• What cortisol is and how it affects your body 

• Signs that your cortisol levels may be elevated 

• Effective, natural strategies to keep cortisol in check 

What role does cortisol play in the body? 

Cortisol is our natural alarm clock, being part of our circadian rhythm - our natural sleep-wake cycle. Cortisol levels naturally increase in the morning, triggered by the light, giving us the motivation to get out of bed.  Peaking 30-45 minutes after we wake, it makes us feel alert and ready to go.  Levels naturally decline over the day, so by evening cortisol should be low when melatonin, our sleep hormone, starts to be released triggered by the dark. 

Cortisol’s other job is part of our fight or flight response. When we have a fright adrenaline is initially released, later this is followed by cortisol. Its job is to keep us on high alert and as part of this, it works through the nervous system to; 

• Keep our heart beating faster  

• Dilates our pupils to widen our vision 

• And it gets the liver to dump sugar into our bloodstream so we have the energy for a quick getaway.  

This is an example of an acute stress response. However, living with daily stress can lead to permanently increased cortisol levels and is an example of chronic stress.  It can put mental and physical pressure on the body and if left unchecked over time can lead to burnout.  

How to tell if your cortisol levels are high? 

Here are some of the key signs that you might experience with raised cortisol. If you can identify with a few of them then cortisol imbalance might be an issue.  

• Sleep issues, especially waking in the night feeling very alert. 

• Overheating in the day or night. 

• Sugar cravings, getting “hangry” if you don’t eat on time, get brain fog. 

• Weight gain around your middle. 

• Salt cravings. 

• Finding it hard to switch off – using alcohol to relax. 

• Increased blood pressure. 

• Anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. 

• Shallow breathing. 

• Low tolerance to stress, short-tempered 

What can I do? I can’t just switch stress off. 

Sometimes there are things in life that you can’t just make go away. Some of the top stressors include starting a new job, moving house, death of a loved one, financial problems, relationship problems, divorce or illness. This means finding ways to cope with the stress of the situation is important to help maintain cortisol balance.   

Fortunately, nature has provided herbs that can help support our body through stressful times. There are a group of herbs called, adaptogens. They work with the nervous system to help move the body from a stressed state to a more restful one. They need to be taken daily in order to support the body with this balance.  

One of the most popular herbs for this is Ashwagandha, which has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for more than 3000 years! It helps you to relax and unwind and has a balancing effect on the body.  Ashwagandha (also known as Withania) is also helpful for restoring healthy sleep patterns, even when it is taken during the day.   

Another adaptogenic herb that is gaining popularity is Holy Basil. It also helps with memory and brain function. These are areas that can need some support when we are feeling stressed.  

This is why these key herbs have been combined with Rosemary, a calm and focus herb, in LiveCalm the BraveFace daily capsules. Taken daily, LiveCalm can support balance and calm, throughout o your day and night, so you can have support when dealing with life’s challenges.

Here are a few more natural tool to help you keep your cortisol in check! 

Minimise stimulants: 

• Daily substances like caffeine, alcohol, vapes and cigarettes all help to trigger cortisol release.  If you enjoy a daily coffee do this in the morning when cortisol should be higher.  

Prioritise your sleep:  

• Sleep deprivation can increase cortisol levels, which seems ironic when high cortisol affects sleep. This means supporting healthy sleep is key to managing daily stress. Good sleep behaviours include; 

• Switching off devices, to avoid reading something too brain-stimulating and the light interrupts melatonin production.  

• Set the same bed time every night. The body likes regular rhythms and patterns for normal hormone release. 

• If you want to dig a little deeper into the impacts of sleep on your stress level, you can find out more in our Sleep Blog.

Exercise: 

• High-impact exercise can increase cortisol, although it does have benefits for cardiovascular health and releasing feel-good endorphins. If you feel that your cortisol levels are higher then it might be better to try lower-impact exercises like walking, yoga or swimming. If you still want to do a high-impact workout then early morning is the best time.  

Balanced eating:  

• As stress and cortisol tend to drive us towards surges of sugar this can affect our energy and balance. Plan in 3 regular meals. Eat proteins and good fats with these meals as they release energy slowly. Even if the meal includes carbs they will still breakdown more slowly when they are combined with fats and proteins. Breakfast is important for starting the day’s energy well, so good examples include eggs on toast or toast, vegemite and avocado. 

Meditation and breathing exercises: 

• Focusing on relaxing and breathing is a great way to reset our nervous system back to a calm space. When we are stressed we tend towards shallow breathing, so following some breathing exercises can be helpful. If you would like guided sessions there are many available online or in apps. Or you can reference our Breathing Technique Blog for a few simple exercises. 

Journalling: 

•  Get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper. Writing down what happened in the day and how you felt about it, has been shown to support anxiety, depression and stress. 

Let go of perfectionism:  

• Nothing in life is perfect. A shift in mindset can unlock so much future growth for you and your mental health. 

Vitamin C:

• Vitamin C is essential for making our adrenal hormones like cortisol and for keeping us well under stress.  Make sure you have plenty of vitamins C rich foods such as kiwifruit, berries, citrus fruit, capsicum, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables.   

If you would like to learn more about your cortisol levels or have any questions about stress and supporting your needs, book at chat with one of our naturopaths. It’s free!