CCortisol is your body’s main stress hormone, but it does more than just respond to stress. It’s a steroid hormone made by your adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys.Cortisol is a glucocorticoid, a type of hormone that helps your body use sugar (glucose), handle stress, and lower inflammation.
Cortisol affects almost every part of your body.
It helps with:
• Using glucose for energy
• Lowering inflammation
• Managing blood pressure
• Balancing your sleep-wake cycle
• Supporting mood and memory
• Activating your fight-or-flight response
Your body keeps a close eye on cortisol 24/7. It works to keep your levels in a healthy range.
Not too high, not too low. That balance is called homeostasis.
Cortisol isn’t bad, but too much for too long is a problem.
Symptoms of high cortisol:
• Tired all the time, even after rest
• Poor focus or brain fog
• Mood swings
• Low drive or motivation
• Muscle weakness
• Poor sleep or insomnia
• Water retention or bloating
• Appetite swings (low or emotional eating)
If you feel lethargic and fatigue, or constantly drained, your cortisol might be too high.
You can test it via blood, saliva, or urine, but the symptoms often speak loud enough.
Here are the most common causes:
• Poor or broken sleep
• Too much caffeine or energy drinks
• Life stress: work, money, emotional load
• Intense or excessive training (intense does not mean cortisol, poor recovery or poor nutriton does)
• Low-carb or low-calorie diets
• Skipping meals
• Alcohol or smoking
• Some medications
Most commonly it's a mix of all of them. Inefficient nutritional patterns, combined with high levels of mental stress.
High cortisol is your body asking for help. So instead of pushing through, the best move is to slow down and reset.
Cortisol Detox Starter Pack
Let’s break it down by what gives the most impact:
1. Sleep and Recovery
Sleep is the #1 way your body resets your cortisol levels. You want quality sleep. Deep, consistent, and enough of it. Think of it like plugging your phone in overnight. No charge, no power.
2. Mental Relaxation
Stress is the fastest way to spike cortisol. Meditate. Take a walk. Listen to music. Laugh.
Whatever helps you unplug and just breathe , do that more.
3. Nutrition That Supports You
Carbs can help lower cortisol (yep, really). But it has to be smart carbs, fruits, whole grains, sweet potatoes. Still accordingly to what you do, as you also might need high glycemic carbs if you are a really high physical performer.
Eating too little or skipping meals tells your body you're in a crisis. And that spikes cortisol. Defensive mechanisms.
4. Cut Down Stimulants
Too much caffeine or energy drinks will push your adrenal system over the edge. Switch to herbal tea or cut your caffeine after noon.
5. Limit Alcohol and Smoking
These mess with your sleep and recovery, making everything worse.
Try reducing slowly if quitting feels like too much.
6. Rethink Your Workouts
Hard training is great, until your body can't keep up. If you're already stressed or tired, swap intense sessions for stretching, yoga, or walking. Give your nervous system a break.
It's pretty pointless solving an problem, waiting for it to represent itself.
Try to address the route cause and enjoy the benefit non-stop:
Fuel Your Body Properly
Your body needs specific nutrients. Would you put any 3L of fluid into your car?
Consider the car can be purchased again. You time not being at your best, is lost forever.
Stick To a Sleep Routine
Go to bed and wake up at the same time(average). Every day. Yes, even weekends. Your body LOVES rhythm.
Train yourself - don't smash yourself
Exercise lowers cortisol, only when your body can recover.
Overtraining does the opposite(under recovering.)If you’re constantly tired, scale it back.
Train Your Brain to Stay Positive
Positive thinking literally changes your brain and helps reduce stress.
It’s not about ignoring problems, It's about acknowledging and reorganising in function of it.
Back in 2018, I worked with one of the top 5 circus acrobats in the world. A Cirque du Soleil performer.
Her schedule? Insane. She was pushing non-stop. Saudi Arabia, Russia, the US, Europe, mostly spending less than 6 days in each country.
She was trained by the best ones and was a coach herself at an aerial academy in Saint Petersburg. She came to me because she was feeling fatigued, weak, and couldn’t keep her energy up between shows.
Her goal? More performance control, more power, less exhaustion. Our first session? Not a workout.
It was sushi. I took one look at her and saw it: sky-high high cortisol symptoms, muscle loss, dark circles, shaky hands.I told her to stop everything. One proper meal later, she was already feeling better.
The next day, we did isometric core work, mid back work and added glucose before her performances.
The change was instant. She started to recover, perform better, and feel unstoppable again.
What changed? Not just training. It was rest, food, recovery, and the right timing.
We reprogrammed her body and brain to feel safe, fueled, and focused.
You don’t have to be a Top World Altthete. They usually are more looked after in fact.
You can be:
• A busy executive
• A parent running around
• A gym rat who never rests (hyper common, most of I would say)
•A person grinding through 60-hour work weeks
Fatigue, burnout, high stress, anxiety, bloating, poor sleep, short temper, low motivation — all of these can be signs of high cortisol.
Even if you “push through” it now, it’ll catch up. Trust me, I’ve spent over 17 years working with high-level athletes, business people, performers, and regular folks. The problem isn’t always effort, it’s always the recovery.
Here’s your cheat sheet. Try even just 3 of these this week:
✅ Sleep 7–8 hours, same bedtime
✅ Cut caffeine after 12pm
✅ Take a 30-minute walk outside
✅ Eat a proper breakfast (with carbs and protein)
✅ Drink more water
✅ Take 5 minutes to deep breathe or meditate
✅ Skip one workout if you feel drained
✅ Swap one coffee for herbal tea
✅ Reduce alcohol to 1–2x a week
✅ Say no to something stressful that’s not urgent
I bet in 7 days you won't believe the difference.
✅ Take our 90s test to get a free personalised plan.