8 Natural Ways To Lower Your Cortisol Levels & Relieve Stress
You can lower your cortisol levels by eating a nutrient dense diet, getting regular exercise and enough sleep plus adding the right supplements to your diet like fish oil and vitamin D. Here are 10 natural ways to lower your cortisol levels and relieve stress from the comfort of your home.
What Is Cortisol?
Cortisol is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands. It helps your body deal with stressful situations, as your brain triggers its release through the sympathetic nervous system. This is known as the “fight or flight” system which happens when your body is under stress.
While the short-term release of cortisol can help you get away from danger, long-term higher levels can lead to all kinds of health issues like chronic diseases and weight gain.
Signs Of High Cortisol Levels
While there are many signs of high cortisol levels, here are some of the most common ones to look out for:
- Trouble sleeping
- Forgetfulness
- Difficulty concentrating
- Changes in appetite
- Irritability
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Mood swings
- Upset stomach
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Weight gain
- Stretch marks
- Low libido
- Irregular periods
- Skin changes like acne| rashes
- High blood sugar
- High blood pressure
Note: some of these symptoms can be caused by other health issues so it’s always best to get professional help.
10 Natural Ways To Lower Cortisol Levels
1. Get Enough Sleep
Stress can make it difficult to fall or stay asleep and at the same time, not getting enough sleep increases cortisol levels. It’s recommended to get at least 7 hour straight full night sleep. Here are some tips to help you fall asleep quickly and get a full night’s rest:
- Drink a cup of turmeric golden milk before bedtime, or chamomile tea.
- Take a warm shower, turn off your phone, tv, or laptop 30 minutes before going to bed and read a book instead.
- Keep your room cool and dark, try sleep sounds and establish a consistent sleep schedule.
2. Lower Your Stress Levels
Stress is one of the main causes of high cortisol levels so it’s important to find effective ways to reduce your stress levels in order to lower cortisol. Here are a few tips to help lower your stress levels:
- Stay away from situations, things, or people that may be causing your stress levels to rise.
- Think about things in your life that can be avoided as much as possible.
- Try some stress managing techniques like deep breathing, mindfulness and meditation, walking to enhance endorphins, and muscle relaxation can reduce stress levels quickly.
- Other methods include listening to music, and even cooking. I sometimes watch a few funny movies to lower my stress levels.
- Finally, drink enough water and eat magnesium rich foods like bananas, leafy greens and nuts, along with omega-3 rich foods like salmon, chia seeds, and avocados.
3. Laugh A Lot
This study shows that laughing promotes the release of endorphins and suppresses stress hormones such as cortisol. It also helps improve mood, lowers high blood pressure and strengthens the immune system. Surprisingly, even if your laugh is forced or fake, it still helps lower stress levels.
If you’ve ever heard of laughing yoga, then you’ll know what I mean. Laughing yoga is a form of yoga that promotes deliberate bouts of laughter to lower cortisol levels, reduce stress, improve mood and energy levels.
4. Eat A Balanced Diet
If you really want to lower your cortisol levels naturally, eating a balanced diet should be very high on your list. Your main focus should be eliminating high sugar foods and caffeine from your diet.
Studies show that adding high fiber foods like vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, lentils, seeds and whole grains to your diet is a great way to start.
Also, consuming fermented foods such as plain yogurt, kefir, kombucha, miso, tempeh, and apple-cider vinegar can increase your probiotic intake which stimulates the main communication between the gut and the brain. This leads to lower cortisol levels and calms the body’s stress response.
Finally, I highly recommend drinking a few cups of green tea daily, that’s because green tea contains catechins, polyphenols, and a calming compound known as L-theanine. All of which has been linked to reduced stress and increased mental alertness.
5. Check Your Relationships
Since stress is the main cause of high cortisol levels, it’s important to lead a stress-free life and the people around us play a huge part. If you are in a stressful relationship with a partner, friend or family, it’s time to make a decision.
A stable and loving relationship is vital for a healthy mind, body, and soul. If your relationships are unhappy and unhealthy, they can cause a great deal of stress. And if conflicts are happening regularly, you won’t be able to get your cortisol levels down.
6. Take Supplements
If the tips above are not working in helping you reduce your cortisol levels naturally, it’s time to talk to your doctor about supplements. One small study was done on participants that took omega-3 fatty acids for up to 8 weeks and the results showed lower levels of emotional stress.
Another supplement that lowers cortisol levels is vitamin D3. This study shows that vitamin D3 has the potential to lower both cortisol and cortisone levels. Vitamin C is another amazing antioxidant that helps reduce oxidative stress and enhances the immune system.
7. Quit Drinking & Smoking
If you’ve been drinking long-term, it’s time to quit because research shows that heavy alcohol consumption can cause high levels of cortisol. That’s because it interfere with the body’s ability to regulate cortisol levels.
Smokers are not excluded, this study shows that people who smoked had higher levels of cortisol than those who didn’t. Smoking also disrupts sleep quality which leads to daytime stress.
8. Take Up A Hobby
Taking up a hobby could be one of the best things you could do for your mental health. They can be relaxing and rewarding at the same time. Hobbies help take your mind of things that causes you stress and give you something to focus on.
One study showed that veterans who took up gardening as a hobby had decreased levels of cortisol compared to the others who sat around doing nothing. Here are some stress reducing hobbies to get you started:
- Drawing
- Painting
- Crafting
- Sewing
- Creative writing
- Blogging
- Pottery
- Photography
- Calligraphy
- Jewelry making
- Candle making
- Scrapbooking
Conclusion
If you have been experiencing high cortisol levels for a long time, try to make an appointment with your doctor. In most cases, making simple lifestyle changes, eating the right foods and getting rid of stressors can make a huge difference.
With that being said, having high cortisol levels long-term can be damaging to your overall health and wellbeing. Make sure to save this post for later, let me know your thoughts in the comments and follow me on social for more awesome tips.
