Do You Know Your Cortisol Pattern?

Did you know the stress hormone cortisol follows a 24-hour rhythm?

The pattern helps you feel alert in the morning and calm at night, like this:

☀️Cortisol peaks within 30 minutes of waking to kickstart the body for the day.

⛅ Levels decline throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

🌙 Cortisol is lowest at midnight to allow for restful sleep.

But if stress or lifestyle disrupt this natural rhythm…

⬆️ Cortisol can be persistently high, making you anxious or sleepless.

⬇️ Cortisol can be persistently low, making you fatigued and moody.

🔃 Cortisol can be flipped, making you feel tired in the morning and wired at night.

Cortisol is a “stress hormone,” but it also influences metabolism, weight, inflammation, blood pressure, brain function, mood, and SO. MUCH. MORE.

I think it’s worth paying attention to cortisol and doing everything we can to get it back to balance.

Do you agree?

Like this post if you want to see more posts about how to support your cortisol rhythm and stop letting stress rule your health 🙌

Interested in testing your cortisol levels? Schedule an initial visit with us to get started! 😍

Stress Hormones: What You Need to Know.

What your body does with stress 👇

I think we can all agree that the holiday season is one of the most stressful times of year.

Maybe you have a *sense* that it affects your health, but do you actually know why or how?

If you want to train your body to be more resilient to stress (so it doesn’t have so much control over your life), it helps to understand stress hormones.

So let’s start there.

There are 2 hormones to know:

Cortisol & Adrenaline (also called Epinephrine). Here are the differences:

1️⃣ Adrenaline is released rapidly as an immediate response to stress, whereas cortisol is released in a daily rhythm regulated by the brain & the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

2️⃣ Adrenaline has fast effects to activate the body when in danger (think “fight or flight!”) Cortisol has slower effects that are not as obvious to track.

3️⃣ Whereas adrenaline increases the heart rate and can make you feel anxious during intense moments, cortisol has longer-term health effects related to metabolism, sleep, brain, and mood.

Cortisol is so central to the stress cycle that I’ll be sharing more about it and what we can do to balance it in upcoming posts.

Like if you found this helpful ❤️ and message me for help.

How to CRUSH Your Next Holiday

Most people think a holiday is all about pigging out and drinking alcohol. 

But what if you think of your next holiday as an entire day you get to do nothing but ENJOY yourself. 

Even if you don’t have complete control over the daily schedule (maybe you’ll be visiting family or hosting dinner), you don’t have any responsibilities of a regular day. 

Here’s a cheat sheet for how to CRUSH your next holiday and feel happier and healthier at the end of the day:

📋 Do some prep work (especially chopping veggies!)

👟 Start with exercise (so you can relax and be present after that!)

💦 Drink plenty of water (it will keep your energy up)

🍂 Take the kids or relatives outside (everyone is happier with fresh air)

🧩 Play games or puzzles (doesn’t matter your age)

☯️ Reflect at the end of the day (treat yourself with journaling or a bath)

Holidays can feel like some of the most stressful times, but when we shift our perspective to be grateful for the moment we have, we come out happier on the other side. 

What are your thoughts? Do any of the ideas here resonate with you? Drop me a comment below ⤵️