How To Get Cortisol Levels Checked

Phosphatidylserine As A Cortisol Supplement

The supplement phosphatidylserine has a positive effect on your mind and memory and can help reduce cortisol production.

One small study found that phosphatidylserine supplements of 600 mg a day can lower cortisol levels after intensive exercising. This can be an effective way for athletes or people who enjoy regular intensive exercise to avoid the effects of too much cortisol.

How Is This Cortisol Urine Test Different From A Cortisol Saliva Test

The Everlywell Sleep & Stress Test uses urine samplesâ âinstead of salivaâ âfor measuring cortisol levels. Urine samples are easy to collect, so this cortisol test is a convenient way to measure your cortisol levels at different times of the day. By taking this at-home lab test, you may be able to learn if you have unusually high or low cortisol levels.

Can You Control Your Cortisol Levels With Diet

Having a balanced diet is always essential to maintaining a healthy body.

Unhealthy food can cause an increase in cortisol production. In fact, sugar intake is a trigger for cortisol production8. If you have a regular, high intake of sugar, your cortisol levels will be constantly elevated9.

However, sugar intake can be beneficial in moments of extreme stress10. If you are facing a threat, elevated cortisol levels are exactly what you need. Interestingly, sugar can be beneficial in times of stress when the cortisol need is increased.

Unfortunately, thats one of the reasons behind stress eating. When your body detects a threat, it knows it needs more energy to be able to respond as fast as possible. This results in sugar cravings which in the long run have their own side effects.

Here is a list of foods that can be eaten at the onset of sugary cravings. Eating these instead of sugary foods will still provide your body with healthy sources of immediate energy. This will help reduce your overall cortisol levels if they are high.

• Drinking water whilst exercising11
• Fruits particularly bananas and pears13
• Black tea & green tea14

Probiotics are bacteria found in yogurts. They are good for you. Prebiotics are foods that these bacterias consume. Increasing levels of both will also help reduce cortisol levels in your body15.

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Is Cortisol A Stress Hormone

Cortisol is widely known as the stress hormone. However, it has many important effects and functions throughout your body aside from regulating your bodys stress response.

Its also important to remember that, biologically speaking, there are multiple different kinds of stress, including:

• Acute stress: Acute stress happens when youre in sudden danger within a short period of time. For example, barely avoiding a car accident or being chased by an animal are situations that cause acute stress.
• Chronic stress: Chronic stress happens when you experience ongoing situations that cause frustration or anxiety. For example, having a difficult or frustrating job or having a chronic illness can cause chronic stress.
• Traumatic stress: Traumatic stress happens when you experience a life-threatening event that induces fear and a feeling of helplessness. For example, experiencing an extreme weather event, such as a tornado, or experiencing war or sexual assault can cause traumatic stress. In some cases, these events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder .

Your body releases cortisol when you experience any of these types of stress.

Taking A Cortisol Test

Cortisol can be measured in the blood, saliva, or urine. Because cortisol levels change throughout the day, your doctor will likely recommend that your cortisol test be conducted at a specific time, depending on the purpose of the test.

Blood samples for cortisol tests are most often collected early in the morning when the level of cortisol in your blood should be at its highest. The blood sample is usually taken from your arm at a medical office, hospital, or lab.

Saliva for a cortisol test may be collected at a medical office or at home. When testing for high cortisol, your doctor may instruct you on how to collect a sample of saliva late at night while you are at home.

For a cortisol urine test, you will be provided with containers and detailed instructions about how to collect all of the urine you produce in 24 hours. You will collect this urine yourself and then return it to a lab. For convenience, you may wish to choose a 24-hour period when you expect to be at home.

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Tend To Your Spirituality

If you consider yourself spiritual, developing your faith can also help improve cortisol levels.

Studies show that adults who expressed spiritual faith experienced lower cortisol levels in the face of life stressors such as illness (

69 ).

If you do not consider yourself spiritual, these benefits may also be available through meditation, developing a social support group, and performing acts of kindness .

Summary

For those with spiritual inclinations, developing faith and participating in prayer can help manage cortisol. Whether youre spiritual or not, performing acts of kindness can also improve your cortisol levels.

Ways To Get Your Stress Levels In Check

This is such an important conversation to be having right now.

Ive highlighted here how elevated cortisol levels can impact the gut and immune health. The stress in overdrive repercussions that accompany high cortisol can also increase anxiety, depression, headaches, sleep problems, and brain function. Stress impacts your health in so many ways. The body was intended to be in mostly a relaxed, calm state, not constantly stressed out.

The best way to have healthy cortisol levels is to manage stress. By creating a relaxed state within yourself, your gut will benefit from reduced stresshormones, less muscle tension, and important vagal tone important input from the relaxation portion of the autonomic nervous system the parasympathetic nervous system that allows you to digest and process food with ease.

When you find yourself getting wound up because of stress, you can easily access the parasympathetic nervous system to return your body to a natural state of balance. With some practical techniques, you can change your focus toward health and connection and instantly begin the process of healing and disease resolution.

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High Cortisol Levels Vs Cushings Disease Vs Cushings Syndrome: Whats The Difference

When the pituitary or adrenal glands produce abnormally high levels of cortisol for a duration of time, a doctor may diagnose a serious, chronic disorder called Cushings disease.

Cushings disease is usually caused by tumors on the adrenal or pituitary glands and often causes symptoms like rapid weight gain, a swollen face, fatigue, and water retention/swelling around the abdomen and upper back. It impacts women between the ages of 25 to 40 most often, although people of any age and gender can develop this condition.

Diagnosable Cushings disease caused by an overactive adrenal gland is considered much rarer than just having generally high cortisol levels. In other words, you have a much greater chance of experiencing high cortisol at certain times due to increased stress in your life than you do of ever being diagnosed with Cushings disease. While people experience at least somewhat high levels of cortisol at one time or another during very stressful episodes , rates of Cushings disease diagnoses are still very low compared to other hormonal/endocrine conditions like thyroid disorders or diabetes, for example.

Low Cortisol Levels: Addisons Disease and Adrenal Fatigue

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When Should You Get A Cortisol Test

Since cortisol is required by a number of crucial bodily functions, any disruption to its levels can have a profound impact on your wellbeing. This also creates a problem when it comes to identifying any obvious signs that tell you when to get a cortisol test.

Unfortunately, there are very few symptoms of unbalanced cortisol levels that are exclusive to cortisol problems. In general, if you deal with a lot of stress, either at home or at work, it is wise to monitor your cortisol levels to ensure that they are not causing you problems.

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What Do The Results Mean

A cortisol test alone can’t diagnose the cause of abnormal cortisol levels. If your cortisol level isn’t normal, you will usually have more tests to find out what is causing the problem.

High levels of cortisol may be a sign that you have Cushing’s syndrome. It may be caused by:

• Taking high doses of certain steroid medicines for a long time to treat conditions, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus
• Tumors in your pituitary gland or other parts of your body that make too much of the hormone that tells your adrenal glands to make cortisol
• Tumors in your adrenal glands that make extra cortisol

Low levels of cortisol may mean you have Addison disease or secondary adrenal insufficiency:

• Common causes of Addison’s disease include damage to the adrenal glands from conditions, such as:
• Certain infections, such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS

The most common cause of low cortisol levels is suddenly stopping steroid medicines after using them for a long time.

If your cortisol results aren’t normal, it doesn’t always mean you have a medical condition that needs treatment. Cortisol levels can be affected by:

• Stress
• Certain medicines, such as birth control pills

To learn what your test results mean, talk with your health care provider.

Learn more about laboratory tests, reference ranges, and understanding results.

What Do Cortisol Test Results Mean

The outcome of cortisol testing can indicate several different things. Your healthcare provider will explain your results and what they mean.

High levels of cortisol might indicate:

• Effects of large amounts of certain medications.
• Tumor in your pituitary gland thats producing adrenocorticotropic hormone , which stimulates the production of cortisol.
• Tumor in your adrenal gland thats producing too much cortisol.
• Tumor elsewhere in your body, such as small cell lung cancer.

Low levels of cortisol might indicate:

• Tumor in your pituitary gland tumor that slows ACTH production.
• Underactive or damaged adrenal glands.
• Underactive pituitary gland.

If your results are low or high, your healthcare provider may order other tests:

• ACTH stimulation test: This assesses how your adrenal glands respond after you get a shot of artificial ACTH.
• Dexamethasone suppression test: This measures cortisol after you take a medication called dexamethasone, a manufactured version of cortisol.
• Imaging tests: An MRI or CT scan allows healthcare providers to take pictures of your glands and locate a possible tumor.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

A cortisol test measures the level of cortisol in your body. It can help diagnose an adrenal disorder such as Cushings syndrome or Addisons disease. Your healthcare provider will give you specific instructions on the type of test you need and when it should happen.

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What Affects Your Cortisol Levels

Cortisol production varies depending on the time of day. Levels are highest in the morning hours and gradually decrease throughout the day. Finally, they arrive at their lowest levels in the late afternoon and evening1.

Major shifts in cortisol levels could be caused by two conditions: Addisons disease and Crushings syndrome. Addisons disease is a condition that causes low levels of cortisol. Whereas Crushings syndrome causes elevated cortisol levels. They are both signs of adrenal dysfunction.

However, there may as well be other reasons behind abnormal cortisol levels. Here are some factors that affect the production of cortisol in the body:

• Exposure to heat or cold
• Infection

Cortisol will also respond to the threat by increasing:

• The amount of sugar in the blood4
• The amount of sugar used in the brain4
• Tissue repair abilities4
• Tightening the blood vessels from the redirected processes 5
• Relaxing the blood vessels in the muscles 5

Moderate Exercise To Lower Cortisol

Enjoying regular exercise can help to reduce your cortisol levels because it helps to cope with stress better.

The Journal of Endocrinological Investigation reported that moderate, low-intensity exercise has a positive effect on cortisol levels. However, intensive exercise increases cortisol secretion in the body.

Interestingly, sweating after exercise can cause high concentrations of cortisol in the body and these concentrations are detected in hair. Doctors can test hair samples for cortisol to help diagnose conditions related to chronic stress.

Walking is a great low impact exercise that can act as a cortisol reducer and manage your stress levels. One of the benefits of walking every day is that it helps to get rid of excess body fat.

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What Is Cortisols Role In The Body

One of cortisolâs main functions is regulating your bodyâs response to stressâhence, its nickname of the âstress hormone.â

When you experience stress, your adrenal glands release cortisol into your body which temporarily increases your blood sugar for a boost of energy and curbs nonessential functions. This process helps you perform better in stressful situations, such as when you are in danger.

When your body experiences a cortisol imbalance, the amount of cortisol produced in response to any kind of stress can impact important functions in your body as a result of too much or too little cortisol being secreted. Cortisol secretion is mainly controlled by three inter-communicating regions of the body the hypothalamus in the brain, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland.

In addition to managing your stress response, cortisol also helps your body regulate a number of other key functions linked to your health.

How Much Does An At

Most at-home testing companies dont work with insurance, but they will likely take FSA/HSA payments. Its best to reach out to your insurance company about coverage. At-home tests tend to cost less than going to the clinic since you would also be paying for a provider visit in addition to lab testing. Home cortisol test kits tend to range from about $50 to around $200 depending on the test.

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Will I Need To Do Anything To Prepare For The Test

The preparations will depend on the type of test you are having. Be sure to follow all the instructions that your provider gives you.

Stress can raise your cortisol levels, so you may need to rest before your test. A blood test will require you to schedule two appointments at different times of the day. Before a saliva test, you may need to stop using certain medicines. Let your provider know about all medicines you use, including skin creams. But don’t stop using any medicines without talking with your provider first.

How To Test Cortisol Levels At Home With The Everlywell Sleep & Stress Test

Order the Everlywell test online.

Once it arrives, register your kit online using the unique ID that comes inside your kit.

Follow the sample collection instructions inside the kit.

Place your sample inside the return bag included within the kit. Then, put the bag back inside the kit box.

Send the box back in the return envelope using the prepaid shipping label provided.

After the lab tests your sample, check your results on our secure, online platform.

What Can Be Done For Accurate Morning Cortisol Collection

One simple way to motivate people is by clearly stating that collection time will objectively affect their results.

It also helps if they know their morning sample is one of the most important measurement, and accurate documentation of this particular sample is crucial. Having a normal routine is useful.

Other methods include:

• Using a diary that logs time of waking up and collection. Keeping the kit next to bed, with a pen to note down the time has been found helpful.

• Using an alarm to wake upresearch shows the cortisol spike in morning is unaffected by whatever method is used to wake up.

• Use of smart phone to track timetaking a picture at collection will add a time stamp to validate the time later on. However, the waking up time still needs to be monitored.

• Heart beat monitorswhen tied to the chest they can accurately provide waking up time. Heart beat increases once you are awake.

• Other techniques include sample collection in a sleep lab, automated blood collection, wrist actigraphy, or polysomnographyhowever, all these methods are either expensive or do not represent natural setting.

When Is It Ordered

A cortisol test may be ordered when a person has symptoms that suggest a high level of cortisol and Cushing syndrome, such as

Testing may be ordered when women have irregular menstrual periods and increased facial hair children may have delayed development and a short stature.

This test may be ordered when someone has symptoms suggestive of a low level of cortisol, adrenal insufficiency, or Addison disease, such as:

• Weight loss
• Abdominal pain
• Dark patches of skin

Sometimes decreased production combined with a stressor can cause an adrenal crisis that can be life-threatening and requires immediate medical attention. Symptoms of a crisis may include:

• Sudden onset of severe pain in the lower back, abdomen, or legs
• Vomiting and diarrhea, resulting in dehydration
• Low blood pressure
• Loss of consciousness

Suppression or stimulation testing is ordered when initial findings are abnormal. Cortisol testing may be ordered at intervals after a diagnosis of Cushing syndrome or Addison disease to monitor the effectiveness of treatment.

Exercise But Not Too Much

Depending on the intensity of exercise, it can increase or decrease cortisol.

Intense exercise increases cortisol shortly afterward but will decrease a few hours later. This short-term increase helps coordinate growth of the body to meet the challenge. Additionally, the size of the cortisol response lessens with routine training .

Regular exercise has been shown in numerous studies to help improve sleep quality, reduce stress, and improve overall health, which can help lower cortisol over time .

Interestingly, regular exercise has also been associated with greater resilience to acute stress and may lower negative health effects associated with stress, such as high cortisol .

That said, overdoing it can have the opposite effect. Therefore, aim for around 150200 minutes of mostly low- to moderate-intensity exercise each week and allow yourself time to rest between workouts.

Summary

Exercising regularly can help you better manage stress and promote good health, which may help lower cortisol levels. That said, avoid overdoing it and aim for around 150200 minutes of low- to moderate- intensity exercise each week.