How to Lower Cortisol Levels Naturally
Chronic stress can lead to high cortisol levels, causing fatigue, anxiety, and other health issues. While cortisol helps the body respond to stress, too much of it over time can be harmful. Fortunately, natural methods like diet, exercise, mindfulness, and better sleep can help restore balance. In this article, you’ll discover simple, science-backed ways to lower cortisol levels and improve overall well-being.
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Cortisol is being discussed quite often these days on social media and all over the internet for that matter.
Cortisol has sort of become a buzzword. There are influencers in the health space who are trying to sell you a drink or supplement they claim can eliminate your cortisol belly or cortisol face.
But the truth is, cortisol is very complicated, and it is not something that you necessarily want to lower (although that is what I titled this blog post) but instead bring into balance.
And unfortunately, a supplement or drink is not going to be able to resolve your cortisol issues completely.
The first step to truly resolving your cortisol imbalance is to learn what cortisol actually is, what it does, and how it works in your body.
What is Cortisol?
Cortisol is an extremely powerful hormone. It is produced by the adrenal glands and helps regulate the body’s response to stress.
It is a stress hormone and is released when the body experiences short term stress, long term stress, and traumatic stress.
However, cortisol has many other functions, including decreasing inflammation, regulating blood sugar, and controlling the sleep-wake cycle.
Cortisol: The Good The Bad, & The Ugly
Cortisol affects almost every organ in the body, and when cortisol levels are either too high or too low, it can harm the body.
Cortisol is an essential hormone and actually has many incredible benefits.
The Good
As I previously mentioned, cortisol helps to suppress inflammation, regulate blood pressure, regulate metabolism and blood sugar, and helps control the sleep-wake cycle.
Cortisol plays a key role in your circadian rhythm. When cortisol levels are in balance, it rises in the early morning to wake you up, and it decreases in the evening so that you can sleep.
One of cortisol’s most significant roles is regulating the body’s stress response. Cortisol is released whenever stress occurs.
This is your body’s way of keeping you safe. The released cortisol helps you stay on high alert and provides fast energy.
This is a good thing if you are experiencing an actual stressful event like being chased by a wild animal or someone trying to break into your home.
But it’s not so good when you are just scrolling the internet and stumble across a video that triggers you, which then causes cortisol and adrenaline to be released.
The Bad
We are being bombarded with stressors daily, and unfortunately, your body cannot discern between what is an actual physical threat and what is a threat that you’ve created in your mind.
And this is where true cortisol imbalances start to arise.
Because of the rise of social media (doomscrolling) and the 24-hour news cycle, we are being bombarded with perceived threats.
And as I previously mentioned, your body cannot discern between an actual physical threat and a threat you’ve created in your mind.
So, consuming content that creates fear or stress will cause cortisol levels to rise.
And of course it is not just the content we consume, it’s our lifestyles as well.
Many people live stressful lifestyles in which they work really hard. They spend all day at work and then have to go home to care for the kids, cook dinner, and clean the house.
Not to mention spending hours in traffic each day.
And when they sit down to relax at the end of the day, it usually involves a screen, which most likely consists of watching things that trigger them and causes the release of cortisol.
The Ugly
When cortisol levels are chronically elevated, it can wreak havoc on your body—this is where things can get pretty ugly.
Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline actually suppress the immune system by reducing the production of white blood cells and inhibiting the inflammatory response.
This makes the body more susceptible to infections, slows wound healing, and can contribute to chronic inflammation-related conditions.
Cortisol also has a complicated relationship with several very important hormones.
Melatonin & Cortisol
Melatonin is a master antioxidant hormone. It acts as a free radical scavenger, neutralizing harmful molecules called reactive oxygen species.
It protects cells from oxidative damage, which can lead to inflammation, aging, and disease.
Melatonin can also bind to heavy metals to remove them from the body.
Melatonin is one of the most important hormones in the body. Many people just think of sleep when they think of melatonin, and yes, it is the sleep hormone, but as you can see, it is so much more than that.
While you are sleeping, it is doing everything I mentioned above.
Cortisol and melatonin have an inverse relationship. This means that when cortisol is high, melatonin is low because they can not be elevated simultaneously.
Unfortunately, melatonin cannot rise until cortisol levels decrease.
You can click here to view a chart that shows what melatonin and cortisol levels should look like throughout the day when they are in balance.
Many people with chronically elevated cortisol have to rely on sleeping pills, alcohol, or other substances to sleep because their melatonin levels are low.
This means they are missing out on the restorative and healing benefits of melatonin.
Progesterone & Cortisol
Pregnenolone is a hormone naturally produced in the body by the adrenal glands.
Pregnenolone is a precursor hormone that makes cortisol, progesterone, and several other hormones.
Progesterone has many roles in the body, including preparing the uterus for pregnancy, supporting the body through pregnancy, and regulating the menstrual cycle.
It can also influence mood and behavior.
Unfortunately, if your body is triggered to release cortisol excessively, it can deplete your progesterone levels because cortisol is made from the same precursor hormone.
This is sometimes called the “pregnenolone steal” or “cortisol steal,” where the body diverts resources toward cortisol production, potentially at the expense of other hormones like progesterone or estrogen.
When progesterone levels are low, it will impact the menstrual cycle, fertility, mood, behavior, and more.
This is why many women who are under extreme stress lose their periods.
What Causes Cortisol Levels to Rise?
Cortisol levels rise in response to stress and light. Many people are aware of the stress factor but are completely ignorant of light’s ability to raise cortisol levels.
How Light Affects Cortisol
The suprachiasmatic nucleus is a structure in the brain that is the body’s master circadian clock.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus regulates sleep-wake cycles and other daily rhythms by absorbing light rays through the eyes and skin.
As the body’s master circadian clock, it will signal to your body to release hormones depending on what time it thinks it is.
And the way that it tells time is again via the type of light rays it receives through the eyes and skin.
Before the invention of electricity, the primary light sources were the sun and fire.
The sun emits a full spectrum of visible light, meaning it contains all colors of the rainbow.
However, specific colors are stronger than others depending on the time of the day.
Early morning (sunrise) sun emits more red and orange light. This is because blue and violet wavelengths scatter more due to Rayleigh scattering, leaving behind longer wavelengths like red and orange.
Midday sun (noonish) is when the blue light emitting from the sun is at its peak. When the sun is directly overhead, sunlight travels through less atmosphere, allowing more blue light and UV rays to reach the surface.
Throughout the day, the blue light becomes less intense. As the sun lowers, its light must travel through more atmosphere, causing blue light and UV rays to be filtered out.
At the end of the day (sunset), the red and orange light once again becomes more dominant.
Eventually, the sun completely sets, and we have no direct visible sunlight.
Why does this matter?
It matters because you have a light-sensing protein in your body called melanopsin, which is extremely sensitive to blue light.
And when you are exposed to blue light via the eyes or the skin, it suppresses melatonin production and can increase cortisol production.
When we lived with sun and fire (which primarily emits red and orange light) as our only light sources, this was wonderful.
When the sun began to rise, melatonin decreased, and cortisol increased to wake us up.
Throughout the day, cortisol continued to rise and peaked at midday, when the body received the intense blue light from the afternoon sun.
When the sun would begin to set, cortisol levels would decrease, and as darkness set in, melatonin would begin to rise, preparing us for sleep.
Unfortunately, since the invention of electricity, we are exposed to artificial blue light all day via phones, tablets, computers, TVs, and lightbulbs, which creates absolute circadian chaos within our bodies.
Blue light is essentially sending a signal to your body that it is midday.
Our bodies have no clue what the actual time is. They produce cortisol in response to the blue light they constantly receive from the environment, suppressing melatonin production.
Add stress to the excessive blue light exposure and you have a recipe for disaster.
I recommend reading the book The Circadian Code to learn more about this.
How Stress Affects Cortisol
Cortisol regulates the body’s stress response. It gets released when you are experiencing stress.
Unfortunately, as I previously mentioned, your body cannot discern between an actual physical threat and a threat you’ve created in your mind.
Anything that causes you fear, stress, worry, or anxiety can cause your cortisol levels to rise.
This includes a fight with your spouse, doomscrolling, a bad day at work, and other similar situations, as well as being chased by a wild animal or someone breaking into your home.
Signs & Symptoms of High Cortisol
Some common signs and symptoms of high cortisol are below.
- Weight gain (especially in the belly area)
- Hair loss or thinning
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Irritability
- Low libido
- Infertility issues
- Skin issues
- Puffy face
- and more!!!
You can click here to learn more about the signs and symptoms of high cortisol levels.
You can also take an at-home cortisol saliva test to check your cortisol levels and see if you have high cortisol.
How to Lower Cortisol Levels
Lowering cortisol levels is crucial if they are constantly elevated. Living with chronically elevated cortisol isn’t actually living at all—it’s more like surviving, literally.
Your body produces cortisol in response to fear or stress, it actually thinks you are in a fight-or-flight, survival situation.
You can not grow or heal in a constant fight-or-flight state. Therefore, to become healthy and improve your quality of life, you must balance your cortisol levels.
Unfortunately, there is not a quick fix.
Some supplements and drinks can help support your body during times of stress, but truly bringing cortisol levels into balance requires significant lifestyle changes.
Lifestyle Changes vs Short Term Solutions
Lifestyle changes are the key to addressing stress and excessive blue light exposure, which can help balance cortisol levels.
However, short-term solutions are not useless. Although they will not bring true healing, they can help to support your body during times of high stress.
They are more like a bandaid rather than a cure-all.
Quick Cortisol Fixes
The short term solutions below are great for supporting the body during times of unavoidable stress.
Adrenal/Cortisol Cocktails
The adrenal/cortisol cocktail is a mineral-rich beverage designed to nourish and support your adrenal glands.
The adrenal glands produce stress hormones, so they can become overworked and overburdened during extended periods of chronic stress.
The adrenal/cortisol cocktail is designed to nourish and support your adrenal glands with vitamins and minerals during times of high stress.
Herbal Adaptogens
Adaptogenic herbs like ashwagandha and rhodiola can help the body adapt to stress and lower cortisol levels. They help regulate the body’s response to stress rather than just suppressing it.
Adaptogenic herbs can be really wonderful during times of unavoidable stress. However, they are definitely not a long-term solution.
Herbs like ashwagandha can actually lower cortisol levels too much if used excessively, which you do not want.
They also do not address the root cause of your cortisol issues, which is either excessive stress, excessive blue light, or both.
Long Term Solutions
To fix your cortisol issues, you have to lower your stress levels and reduce your exposure to excessive blue light.
Lowering Stress
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to lowering stress. Everyone has different stressors, and you are the only one who knows what those stressors are.
In general, the best way to lower stress is to reduce the number of stressful situations in your life and add more situations that bring joy.
Healthy Relationships
Toxic relationships are one of the most significant causes of high cortisol. If you are in a relationship that is causing you emotional distress, no amount of adrenal cocktails or ashwagandha is going to help you.
You need to repair the relationship or get out of it. That might sound extreme, but your health and overall well-being are truly at stake.
Healthy relationships produce life and vitality, while unhealthy ones produce sickness. This is because unhealthy relationships continuously stimulate cortisol production.
Have Fun
Having fun and enjoying your life with family and friends is one of the best ways to lower stress. When cortisol levels are high, we will often feel the need to work and get things done.
This is caused by cortisol, which puts you in survival mode, convinces you that you must get things done, and prevents you from relaxing.
But the best thing you can do during those times is precisely that—relax and have fun.
Make Time for Hobbies
Once again, making time for things that actually bring you joy is one of the best ways to lower stress. So engage in hobbies that make you feel happy.
Painting, hiking, gardening, playing music, and dancing are just a few suggestions for fun hobbies that can reduce cortisol.
Stop Consuming Triggering Content
So many people are addicted to triggering content and don’t even realize it. You can actually become addicted to stress hormones like cortisol because of the mental alertness and physical energy that it can create.
I think this is why so many people are addicted to doomscrolling or consuming content that annoys or angers them.
Being mindful of the content you consume and how it affects you is extremely important if you want to lower cortisol.
Stop consuming content that is triggering to you and causing cortisol to rise.
I know it is easier said than done, but it is actually something that you have complete control over and can completely eliminate from your life.
And in my opinion, it is one of the top causes of high cortisol in many people today.
Being Mindful of Your Stress Response
Mastering your mind and emotions is one of the best things you can do for your health. Life is stressful. You will never be able to eliminate stress from your life completely
It is impossible.
But you do have complete control of how you respond to stress, whether you realize it or not.
When a stressful situation arises or you encounter something that triggers you, you can respond with stress, anger, worry, or fear, which will raise cortisol.
Or you can respond with hope, faith, and love, which will not raise cortisol.
You get to make the conscious decision every time.
You also need to be aware and mindful of the imaginary stressful situations you create in your mind.
Remember, cortisol will rise in response to a perceived threat, it doesn’t have to be an actual physical threat.
It cannot distinguish between a physical threat and a threat you created in your mind.
Cortisol is simply responding to your feelings.
So stop imagining worst-case scenarios or stressing and worrying about things that have not happened.
You can do a few things to become more mindful of your thoughts and emotions. Below are a few of my favorites.
- prayer
- meditation
- journaling
- engaging in tasks and chores without external stimuli like music, podcasts, and videos
Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises can lower stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps calm the body and counteract the stress response.
Any time you encounter a stressful situation, simply doing a breathing exercise like this one can actually reduce your cortisol levels.
Focusing on breathing also shifts attention away from stressors and can help you feel grounded and calm.
Fixing Your Light Environment
Fixing your light environment is just as important as dealing with stress if you want to lower cortisol levels.
Even if you live a carefree, stress-free life, excessive blue light can still cause cortisol to rise.
You want the light your eyes are exposed to to be in sync with the light emitted from the sun.
So, when the sun is out, your eyes are exposed to light, and when the sun is down, your eyes aren’t exposed to light at all, or at least not blue light.
Because blue light specifically signals to your eyes (and brain) that it is noon, which causes cortisol to rise and melatonin to be suppressed.
This can be difficult in modern times, but below are some suggestions to help you get your lighting right.
Wear Blue Blockers
Blue blockers are glasses that block blue light. Ideally, they should be worn whenever your eyes are exposed to artificial blue light, and the sun is not naturally emitting blue light.
This is typically from sunset to noon the following day.
You can click here for an inexpensive pair of blue blockers that work really well, or you can click here for my absolute favorite blue blockers.
If you decide to purchase blue blockers, just make sure they have red lenses. If a brand has clear lenses and claims they block blue light, they are lying. Do not purchase them.
I tried several pairs of cheap blue blockers from Amazon before finally trying RaOptics, and I noticed a huge difference.
Yes, they are a little pricey, but they are well worth the investment.
You can use the code HAPPYHEART at checkout to get 10% off your purchase!
Use Candles or Oil Lamps After Sunset
Unlike light bulbs, candles and oil lamps primarily emit red and orange light, making them perfect for use as a light source after sunset and in the early morning.
I realize some people might think this is extreme, but I don’t and I actually love the look of oil lamps. I think they are so beautiful.
Limit Screen Usage
If you don’t want to wear blue blockers or use candles, the next best thing you can do is limit your usage of screens, especially after sunset.
Sleep in Complete Darkness
The light emitted from TVs, laptops, phones, and even alarm clocks can all interfere with melatonin production and raise cortisol.
So try to eliminate all light from your sleep space, and if you can’t do that, use a sleep mask to block out all light.
Spend Time Outside in Natural Sunlight
Sunshine has so many amazing benefits. It is one of the best healing modalities available to us.
You can read this post—The Power of the Sun: Healing Benefits of Sunlight—to learn all about the healing benefits of the sun.
Sunlight triggers the release of serotonin, and serotonin is a precursor to melatonin. This means that serotonin synthesizes melatonin through a series of chemical reactions.
So if you spend time outside with your eyes and skin exposed to sunlight, it will increase melatonin production, which will help bring cortisol and melatonin into balance.
Also, the sun’s ability to regulate mood can actually help with stress and worry.
This study concluded that sun exposure actually reduced the perceived threats of the individuals being studied.
Remember, cortisol rises due to actual threats and perceived threats.
Sun exposure helped regulate their mood and encouraged them to respond more optimistically to the supposed perceived threats.
Nutrition & Diet Adjustments
Nutrition and diet adjustments can also be helpful when it comes to lowering cortisol. Below are a few things you can do to regulate cortisol with diet and nutrition.
Drink Coffee After Breakfast (Not on an Empty Stomach)
Cortisol naturally rises in the morning (6-8 a.m.) as part of the body’s wake-up process. Drinking coffee at this time can exaggerate the cortisol spike.
No food in the stomach means faster caffeine absorption, leading to a stronger cortisol response.
So only drink coffee after you have eaten breakfast.
Eat 30-60 Minutes After Waking
As I previously mentioned, cortisol naturally peaks in the morning (between 6 and 8 a.m.) to help you wake up. If you skip breakfast, cortisol may remain elevated longer, keeping the body in a stress response.
So try to have your first meal within 30-60 minutes of waking.
Eat Every 3-4 Hours
The body perceives prolonged fasting as a stress signal, increasing cortisol production.
This is part of the fight-or-flight response, signaling the body to break down muscle and stored glycogen for energy.
This is why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for women. You can read this article—Why I Stopped Intermittent Fasting—to learn more.
If you want to regulate cortisol, eat a well-balanced meal every 3-4 hours.
A Few More Tips for Lowering Cortisol
Lowering stress and fixing your light environment are the most important ways to reduce cortisol, followed by nutrition and diet adjustments.
These are the things that will truly transform your health and regulate cortisol levels.
However, there are a few other lifestyle adjustments that can help as well.
Get Good Sleep
Poor sleep disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm, leading to higher baseline cortisol levels and increased stress.
Getting good sleep can help lower cortisol levels significantly.
All the information above, regarding stress, light, and diet, will help improve your sleep quality.
However, you can read this post—Sleep Better: Tips to Help You Fall Asleep, Stay Asleep, & Wake Up Feeling Awesome—if you need more help with your sleep.
Stay Hydrated
Even mild dehydration (1-2% loss of body weight in fluids) can activate the body’s stress response, leading to increased cortisol production.
So if you want to lower cortisol levels, stay hydrated.
You can read this post—10 Tips to Help You Drink More Water Everyday—to ensure that you are staying properly hydrated.
Limit Caffeine & Alcohol Consumption
Caffeine triggers the adrenal glands to release cortisol and adrenaline, activating the fight-or-flight response.
This is why I recommend only drinking coffee after breakfast.
And if you really want to lower your cortisol levels, reducing your caffeine consumption to one or two cups of coffee a day is the best approach.
Limiting alcohol consumption is also crucial if you want to regulate cortisol.
Chronic alcohol consumption increases baseline cortisol levels, leading to higher stress, anxiety, and poor sleep. Alcohol also disrupts deep sleep, reducing the body’s ability to regulate cortisol properly.
So it’s best to avoid alcohol at least right before bed, if not altogether.
If you can’t completely give it up, try to reduce alcohol consumption at least, and if you really want a drink, I recommend drinking it early in the evening with dinner.
Mindful Exercise
Exercise temporarily increases cortisol but can also help lower cortisol over time when done correctly.
Remember, cortisol is not bad. It is only a problem when it becomes dysregulated and is being produced excessively.
Whether the cortisol response is beneficial or harmful depends on exercise intensity, duration, recovery, and when you work out.
Because exercise temporarily increases cortisol, it is best done in the morning or afternoon so that it doesn’t interfere with melatonin production.
Overtraining, excessive cardio, fasted workouts, and not giving yourself enough recovery time can all raise cortisol significantly.
So if you want to lower cortisol, you must be very mindful of when and how you workout.
Get Adequate Minerals
Minerals like magnesium, potassium, and sodium calm the nervous system and support adrenal function, which regulates cortisol.
They also help maintain hydration, preventing cortisol spikes. This is why the adrenal cocktail can be so beneficial during times of high stress.
You can read the articles below to learn more about the benefits of potassium and sodium as well as the best sources and how to get more in your diet.
You can also check out my DIY Magnesium Lotion and my DIY Magnesium Spray to learn how to make both. They are both excellent sources of magnesium.
You may notice a pattern here, when you care for your body, it lowers cortisol. This is because when you care for your body via good sleep, nutrition, staying hydrated etc. you communicate to your body that you are safe.
When we don’t do these things, we send a signal to our body that we are unsafe, which stimulates cortisol.
Final Thoughts
Lowering cortisol levels naturally is key to managing stress and maintaining overall health. By incorporating healthy lifestyle habits—such as a balanced diet, blocking blue light, quality sleep, and mindfulness techniques—you can help regulate cortisol and improve your well-being.
Small, consistent changes can make a big difference in reducing stress and restoring balance to your body. Prioritizing these natural strategies will not only support lower cortisol levels but also enhance your energy, mood, and long-term health.
Although this post was very long, all the information was necessary to help you understand cortisol and its role and function in the body.
I know this information can be overwhelming, but I tried my best to make a complex hormone simple to understand.
I really hope this information helps you. If you have any questions please let me know!
