Very few hormones have been as misunderstood as cortisol, particularly in recent years. You may have come across a range of posts on social media highlighting the best ways to “lower your cortisol” and how to achieve “healthy cortisol levels”, which often leads people to believe cortisol itself is inherently harmful.
What you may be shocked to learn is that this simply is not the case. Like many things around our health, wellbeing, and longevity, it’s far more nuanced than that.
As Health Optimisation Specialists, we’re going to pull back the curtain on cortisol.
What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands and is one of the most vital hormones in the body. It supports healthy regulation of our energy levels, blood sugar, inflammation and our immune system, as well as our bodies’ response to physical and psychological stress.
The body would not be able to survive without cortisol. So how could something so vital be harmful?
Cortisol affects every other hormonal system in our body; when our brain senses chronic stress, it prioritises survival over longer-term functions like growth, repair and reproduction.
Learn more about your hormones and how its affecting your brain health with a Brain Scan at Viavi.
The Role of Cortisol in Our Body
Cortisol plays a vital role in everything we do – from allowing us to wake up in the morning, to ensuring that we fall asleep at night. Healthy levels of cortisol enable us to rise effectively in the morning, alert our concentration and ensure we’re prepared for whatever the day throws at us. These healthy levels then gradually decline across the day, reaching their lowest during the night to support deep sleep that restores our body. The important part is this daily rhythm and being able to maintain a healthy level of cortisol.
In terms of our metabolism, cortisol ensures that our body has enough available energy during tough or challenging periods in our lives. It stabilises our energy stores and raises our blood sugar levels, which in the short term is appropriate and helpful.
However, long-term, consistently elevated cortisol can contribute to fluctuations in our energy levels, sugar cravings and potential insulin resistance. This also means muscle tissue can be broken down easily, making it harder for us to maintain strength.
How is Cortisol Dysregulated?
At Viavi, cortisol dysregulation is one of the most common hormonal imbalances that we are privy to, often in high-performing clients, executives and entrepreneurs.
In our clinical experience, we’ve observed clients whose individual levels remain consistently elevated throughout the day; they are exhausted rather than energised upon waking but unable to relax later at night. In others, there is very little distinction between AM and PM levels of cortisol, which is a pattern that will have developed over many months.
The stresses of daily life are often the biggest contributors to dysregulated cortisol levels. Ongoing pressure in our work environments, frequent travel, inadequate sleep and emotional trauma all play a significant role in allowing our stress response to remain unnecessarily activated.
These factors paired with existing in a modern world with constant access to digital stimulation both in our work lives and our downtime, makes it clear the ways in which our bodies can become prone to this hormonal imbalance. In addition, despite our ability to reap the health benefits of daily exercise, intense cardiovascular activity and training can become another physiological stressor which increases cortisol production rather than promoting the body’s recovery.
Cortisol and Brain Fog
When our bodies experience an increase in cortisol above healthy levels, our brain is often the first organ to feel its effects. Individuals may lack concentration for certain tasks, feel less cognitively sharp or become more forgetful – often coined as ‘brain fog’.
Smaller issues that we may have overlooked previously may feel larger and more imminent. Others may find that they are easily irritable or on edge, while simultaneously feeling exhausted. As mentioned previously, our sleep is typically always affected.
We may feel as if our mind is permanently switched on, or we wake in the early hours of the morning, unable to fall back to sleep. Research shows that when cortisol remains high, the neurotransmitters in our brain, which are chemical messengers responsible for regulating everything from heart rate, movement and mood, become imbalanced too.
Blood flow to the brain also shifts. Over a period, this impairs the brain’s neuroplasticity – its ability to form new connections – which is what we may think of upon hearing the term ‘brain fog’.
Achieving Healthy Cortisol Levels
Understanding our individual rhythm when it comes to cortisol levels is key, and is our guiding approach to our comprehensive health assessments.
We find that a lot of clients try to approach cortisol rebalance in the wrong way.
“Ironically, many of the ambitious individuals we see respond by exercising even harder. However, intense daily training can become another physiological stressor, further stimulating the cortisol production rather than allowing the body to recover. Sometimes – often actually – the most effective prescription is not more exercise, but better recovery.”
– Jonathan Wreaves, Chief Lifestyle and Performance Officer and Director
The key to improving your cortisol is to understand it fully. Measuring cortisol at several different intervals throughout the day provides us with beneficial information in comparison to a single blood test.
When we understand this rhythm, we can develop a personalised strategy to encourage healthy cortisol levels. Earlier in the day, this typically includes exposure to natural morning sunlight within the first thirty minutes of waking and consuming a protein-rich breakfast.
This signals to our brain that it is morning and therefore time to start our day. Ensuring we eat regular meals and reducing our alcohol and caffeine intake also help to support regulated cortisol levels, as well as incorporating stress-reduction practices such as breathing exercises and mindfulness. In the evenings, it may be wise to dim harsh lighting and try to avoid screen use, especially blue light, in the final few hours before sleep, as well as aiming to keep consistent sleep and wake times.
Despite these strategies seeming simple, when practised consistently, they may be among the most powerful tools at our disposal for restoring a healthy cortisol rhythm. With that will likely come increased energy, clarity and the disappearance of ‘brain fog’ and far greater long-term resilience once our cortisol levels become stable and healthy.
Get to your best with Viavi
For your own personalised plan to tackle issues potentially caused by cortisol or other hormone imbalances, contact us to learn more about our health memberships and how our evaluations can put you on the path to a more elevated you.