The stress hormone isn’t all bad. What to know about your cortisol levels.
If you’ve noticed people talking about managing their cortisol lately, you’re not alone. Chatter about the stress hormone has surged. Doctors say patients are bringing it up more often, and Google searches for how to lower cortisol reached a high in April.
Wellness influencers warn about having too much cortisol or too little, and some promote supplements that claim to help. So what’s the deal with cortisol? And why are people obsessed now? Endocrinologists say many myths abound. Most people don’t need to be concerned about their cortisol levels or so-called “adrenal fatigue," they say.
And cortisol, which doctors typically measure with saliva, urine or blood tests, isn’t innately bad. Cortisol levels that stay elevated for too long can be a problem, but the hormone itself is essential. Supplements that claim to help manage cortisol levels don’t help, doctors say, and might even contain unknown, potentially harmful substances.
“Cortisol is a normal essential hormone," says Dr. Susan Spratt, an endocrinologist at Duke University. “You cannot live without cortisol." Cortisol helps our bodies respond to stress.
It also helps control our use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates; suppresses inflammation; and helps regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, says Dr. Divya Yogi-Morren, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Pituitary Center who specializes in pituitary conditions. On a normal day, cortisol levels peak in the morning when you wake up and then decline, doctors say.
They are at their lowest at bedtime and while you’re asleep. Cortisol production begins with signaling from the brain and the pituitary gland, says Yogi-Morren. The pituitary gland—a pea-size gland at the base of the brain—sends signals to adrenal
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