How to Reduce Cortisol Levels

It’s no secret that stress is an inevitable part of life. Everyone experiences it—at work, at home, or even in a public setting. Luckily for us, while we all experience stress, we also have the power to regulate it.

When it comes to stress, cortisol plays an enormous role. As your body perceives stress, your adrenal glands make and release cortisol—also known as the stress hormone. But what exactly is it, and why is it important to lower your cortisol levels?

What Is Cortisol?

Do you experience stress at work? It could be related to cortisol, which is a stress hormone.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that works with certain parts of the human brain to control your moods, fears and motivations and affects your blood pressure and heart rate. Simply put, cortisol levels go up when you’re stressed.

Why is it Important to Lower Your Cortisol Levels?

Moderate to high cortisol levels can lead to various health issues because cortisol curbs the functions that it deems harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. Overexposure to cortisol can disrupt many of your body’s processes, causing the following:

Chronic diseases (e.g., high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease)
Difficulty sleeping - It’s no secret that stress is an inevitable part of life. Everyone experiences it
at work, at home, or even in a public setting. Luckily for us, while we all experience stress, we
also have the power to regulate it.
Difficulty concentrating
Lack of energy
Damaged immune system

Cortisol plays a role in the natural processes of your body because it affects almost every organ and tissue. While it helps regulate your body’s response to stress, it also:

Controls blood sugar levels and manages blood pressure
Regulates your body's sleep cycle and boosts energy to help you handle stress
Manages how your body uses carbohydrates, fats and proteins to help reduce inflammation

How Do You Reduce Cortisol Levels?

Lifestyle changes play a part in lowering your cortisol levels. You may have heard or encountered these tips before, but incorporating these tips into your daily routine really does make a difference. You’ll notice that you’re starting to feel better every day.

1. Maintain a healthy diet

Cooking a nutritious food at home may be both enjoyable and beneficial to your health!

While occasional feasts don’t hurt, remember that your overall diet must remain clean and healthy. We recommend eating an overall balanced diet instead of restricting yourself. Focus on lean proteins, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables. High-quality sources of carbohydrates such as whole grains may also help.

Incorporate omega-3s (nutrients you get from food or supplements) into your diet as well. According to a study, high levels of cortisol were linked with low levels of omega-3s. Certain foods such as leafy green vegetables can also help in reducing the effects of anxiety and stress.

Finally, we recommend moderating your sugar and sweet intake. Too much of these can prompt your blood sugar to spike, which can affect your mood.

2. Exercise regularly

Exercise can do a lot more than just help you get into shape. When your body is physically active, you become more energised. Exercising also helps in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases and lowering your cortisol levels. A study shows that those who have physical activity have a lower cortisol response to stress compared to those who do not have physical activity.

If you need a little motivation to get yourself moving, remember that the benefits of exercise immensely outweigh the amount of time it takes to do it. Even just 30 minutes of exercise a day can help reduce stress and lower cortisol levels. If your body is new to exercise, start slowly to let your body adjust. You’ll notice that your stamina and cortisol levels will improve as time goes by.

3. Get enough sleep

Of all the great feelings you can have in this world, having quality sleep is incomparable. Not only does it feel good; but it’s also great for good health and the right cortisol levels.

If you’re the type who has a hard time sleeping or getting high-quality sleep, work on developing these habits:

Create a nightly routine
Whether it’s meditation, breathing exercises or a combination of both, a nighttime routine will
help clear your mind and relax your body. Even just 30 minutes a night is enough. Just
remember to avoid electronics and other bright lights as you perform this practice.
Establish a sleep schedule
The purpose of a sleep schedule is to help your body get used to sleeping and waking up at a
consistent time every day. Having a consistent schedule—even on weekends—trains your mind
to naturally feel tired at bedtime.
Create your ideal sleep environment
As we said, high-quality sleep feels great. Support it with comfortable bedding, the right
temperature and blocked external light. You could even have relaxing scents in your room if
needed.

4. Limit your alcohol intake

Many people turn to alcohol because they believe that it’s the solution to stress. The truth, however, is that alcohol is a depressant. In fact, chronic drinking has been linked to high levels of cortisol. High concentrations of cortisol, in turn, are linked to neurotoxicity, which harms a person’s memory, attention, decision-making process and learning abilities.

Alcohol also disrupts sleep, making it counterproductive to your goal of getting high-quality sleep. It can also form a dangerous and unhealthy habit, and you might end up relying on it way more than you had hoped.

If you’re having a hard time limiting alcohol intake, take note of these tips:

Set limits — Set a limit on how much alcohol you will drink. You can ask a doctor to help you determine your recommended limit.
Don’t keep alcohol in your house — Avoid having alcohol at home so you won’t be tempted every time you feel the urge to drink.
Stay away from temptation — Avoid people and places that make you want to drink.
Keep a drinking diary — Keep track of each time you drink and note information about what, where and how much you drank. Compare this with the limits that you set.

5. Stay hydrated and avoid too much caffeine

While drinking water seems like an obvious thing to do, you’d be surprised how often people forget to. Keeping yourself hydrated and avoiding too much caffeine allow for better sleep, improved digestion and lower stress.

Moreover, dehydration has been linked to a temporary increase in cortisol levels. When your body is dehydrated, it’s not functioning properly—therefore causing high levels of stress.

If you tend to forget to drink water throughout the day, these tips may help:

Keep your water bottle close to you at all times. If you can, get yourself one of those water bottles that can already contain how much water you need for the day.
Drink water during every meal. You can also infuse your water with fruits to make it more interesting.
Set an alarm to remind yourself to drink water every hour.

6. Spend time outdoors

Traveling and exploring nature is an excellent approach to relieve stress.

Humans need time in a natural environment to improve their emotional, physical and mental health. Spending time with nature is effective in calming your brain and lowering your cortisol levels.

In fact, a study by an interdisciplinary Cornell team shows that as little as 10 minutes in a natural environment can help college students feel happier. This can lessen the effects of both physical and mental stress.

Spending time outdoors, whether it’s a short walk in the park or a half-day hike, can improve your mood and self-esteem. This increased sense of well-being is caused by the release of “happy” chemicals like endorphins and serotonin and by the increased blood circulation to the brain.

7. Try relaxation techniques

Relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises, guided meditation and yoga can activate the body’s “relaxation response” instead of the stress response.

Controlled breathing exercises, for example, can help stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system—your “rest and digest” system. This can lower cortisol levels.

You can also try relaxing your mind and body through mindful meditation. It doesn’t only reduce cortisol levels; it also helps you learn how to manage your mood.

Other relaxation techniques you could try are the following:

Massage
Tai chi
Music and art therapy
Aromatherapy
Hydrotherapy

8. Pick up a hobby

Spend time on things you enjoy to help lower your cortisol levels. You can also consider learning something new or indulging in an activity you’ve loved doing for a while. It’s a great way to refocus your attention elsewhere instead of the things that are causing you stress.

A hobby can really be anything you engage in for leisure and relaxation—playing a sport, making art, collecting items or playing a musical instrument. There are endless possibilities that you can explore.

If you find that previous hobbies have become uninteresting, don’t worry. It’s okay to continue discovering new hobbies and finding activities that spark your interest. What’s important is you participate in an activity that promotes feelings of well-being.

9. Maintain healthy relationships

Having stable, healthy and loving relationships with family members, friends or a romantic partner helps in having a happy and fulfilled life. When you surround yourself with people who love and support you, you acquire many benefits, such as:

Longer life — When you have strong social connections, you’re more likely to live longer compared to those who do not. This can be attributed to factors such as feeling less stressed and being encouraged to give up bad habits.
Social support — It’s always healthy to have a great listener, wise mentor and overall good friend in your life. Whether you need someone to be there for you after a breakup or you simply need their company for lunch, it helps to have a healthy social support system.
Greater sense of purpose — Having good people in your life encourages you to strive to do good for someone else and even help improve the world. Loving relationships give both you and the other person a sense of well-being and purpose.

10. Manage your stress and limit stressful thinking patterns

As you already know, stress triggers cortisol production, so consciously managing your stress lowers cortisol. Stress management involves knowing how to cope with stress, such as applying mindfulness and self-help techniques.

You’d be surprised how often you invite stress into your life, such as when you take on too many commitments. We recommend being proactive in identifying stressors. List down the things in your life that cause you stress and determine whether they’re avoidable or unavoidable. If the stressor is avoidable, determine if it’s a priority. If not, let it go.

Another way to manage stress is to pay attention to your mental health. If your stress is caused by a mental health condition, mental health treatment may help you manage and reduce it. Seek professional help so you could identify anxious thoughts and replace them with more balanced ones.

Learn to limit your stressful thinking patterns too. When you’re aware of your thinking pattern, breathing and other signs of tension, you can recognize stress before it worsens. Mindfulness-based stress reduction allows you to become more aware of stress-provoking thoughts. Therefore, you get to accept them without resistance and give yourself the ability to process them.

11. Take supplements when needed

While lifestyle changes can definitely reduce cortisol levels, some people may need additional help through supplements. Speak to a doctor to find out if you need to include supplements in your daily life.

Some supplements known to support lower cortisol levels are:

Fish oil comes from fatty or oily fish (e.g., mackerel, tuna, salmon) and contains omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids can commonly be found in plants and marine life. While omega-3 is present in the body, especially in the brain, sperm cells and retina, the body cannot produce it on its own. You need to get it from dietary sources.
Ashwagandha is a herb known to relieve stress, improve concentration and increase energy levels. The word “ashwagandha” means “smell of the horse,” which refers to both its scent and potential ability to increase strength. Other potential benefits of ashwagandha are reduced anxiety, improved athletic performance and reduced inflammation.

Having too much cortisol in your body can damage your health, especially when the cortisol levels remain high for a long period. The best thing to do to reduce cortisol levels is to reduce the things that trigger cortisol production. That means reducing your life’s stressors by making lifestyle changes.

Lifestyle changes are the most natural way to reduce cortisol levels. As long as you consciously and consistently make healthy decisions, you may reduce your stress and improve your life’s overall state.

Two of the ways to reduce cortisol levels are to do relaxation techniques and have quality sleep. Allow the Naturcare Sound Relaxation to help build a relaxing environment for you.

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