Cortisol is a steroid hormone made by your adrenal glands (just above your kidneys).
It’s known as the stress hormone, but it does much more.
It helps regulate:
• Blood sugarInflammation
• Blood pressure
• Sleep-wake cycles
• Energy usage
• Your body’s stress response (fight-or-flight)
• When cortisol levels are balanced, you feel clear, focused, and energised.
When they’re too high, your body starts sending warning signs.
High cortisol can feel like constant pressure in your system. You might experience:
• Always feeling tired, even after sleep
• Trouble focusing or brain fog
• Mood swings or anxiety
• Poor sleep or insomnia
• Muscle weakness or soreness
• Bloating or water retention
• Emotional eating or loss of appetite
• Low motivation
These are early signs of burnout. Your body is trying to say: “Slow down, I can’t keep up.”. A self defence mechanism.
Here are the most common causes of elevated cortisol levels:
• Lack of sleep or poor sleep quality
• Too much caffeine or energy drinks
• Chronic stress (work, finances, relationships)
• Overtraining or intense workouts without rest
• Skipping meals or eating too little
• Low-carb or extreme diets
• Alcohol and smoking
• Certain medications
Your body raises cortisol when it feels unsafe or under pressure. Think of it like a car alarm that won’t switch off.
Here’s how to reset your body and lower cortisol without medication.
1. Prioritise Quality Sleep
Sleep is your natural cortisol reset button. Aim for 7–9 hours of deep, consistent sleep.
No sleep = no recovery = high cortisol.
2. Add Mental Rest to Your Day (Extremely beneficial)
Stress spikes cortisol fast. Try:
Deep breathing
Short walks
Journaling or mindfulness
Listening to music
Laughing more
Your nervous system needs breaks too.
3. Eat to Support Recovery
Low energy? Don’t skip meals. Eat balanced meals with carbs, protein, and healthy fats.
Great options:
• Sweet potatoes
• Whole grains
• Fruit
• Lean protein
• Carbs help lower cortisol, directly and it's only macronutrient able to do that.
4. Cut Back on Stimulants (energy drinks are big cortisol promoters)
Too much caffeine = adrenal fatigue.
Try switching to:
• Herbal teas
• Decaf
• Limiting caffeine to before noon
Now if you are shaking your head, the higher the cortisol the more tired you will feel. The more tired, the more coffee you will need, a spiral circle with no exit. Once you reduce coffee, the tiredness will pass and you will feel more energetic. Counterintuitive but try to believe it. You will also appreciate more coffee, instead of seeing it as a needed tool.
5. Reduce Alcohol and Smoking
They disrupt sleep and keep your cortisol stuck on high. Even small reductions help.
6. Adjust Your Workouts
Hard training while tired? That raises cortisol. If you’re drained, swap HIIT or heavy lifting for:
• Walking
• Yoga
• Stretching
• Light mobility work
• Recovery is a strategy and a tool, not weakness.
In 2018, I coached a world-class aerial performer from Cirque du Soleil.
Her schedule was brutal: constant travel, poor sleep, non-stop shows.
She came to me feeling weak, wired, and burned out.
We started with:
• One proper meal (sushi, high carbs and protein)
• Rest, hydration, and mobility
A full week off intense training
• Better energy
• Stronger performances
• Fast recovery
• The shift wasn’t training harder, it was training smarter. Recovery was missing bit that no-one wanted to see.
This isn’t just for elite athletes.
High cortisol is common in:
• CEOs and executives
• Parents juggling everything
• Gymgoers who never take a break
• Anyone with high stress and poor sleep
Fatigue, bloating, anxiety, brain fog they’re not random. They’re your body’s stress signals. As I said self defence mechanism trying to raise self awareness for you to respond with care.
