Cortisol, more than your STRESS hormone!

What is a hormone anyway?

Hormones are essentially your body's managers. They are chemical messengers. They control processes, transmit messages from one cell to another, and determine how you feel, function, and recover. Without hormones, you would have no energy, no focus, no properly functioning immune system, and no healthy digestion or sleep. They are produced by glands in your body, such as your thyroid, pituitary, and adrenal glands. Just one drop of a hormone in your blood can have a profound effect. So, hormones are neither good nor bad—it's all about timing, balance, and sensitivity. The hormonal process runs from the brain (the hypothalamus) to the rest of the body. This applies to happiness hormones like serotonin, but also to hormones related to food (ghrelin, leptin, and insulin), and of course, the stress hormone cortisol.

What is cortisol?

Cortisol is one of the most well-known hormones, and is often mentioned in the same breath as stress. It's primarily produced in your adrenal glands and helps you cope with acute stressful situations. In prehistoric times, cortisol helped you survive: it kept you alert, gave you quick energy, and suppressed processes that weren't essential at the time, such as digestion or reproduction. This was useful if you had to flee from a predator. But in the modern world, it's often not a lion that causes you stress, but your inbox, financial worries, or a poor night's sleep.

What does cortisol do?

Cortisol plays a key role in energy release. It helps keep your blood sugar levels stable and allows you to react quickly in stressful situations. It also has anti-inflammatory properties, helps regulate your blood pressure, and helps your body process fats, proteins, and carbohydrates more efficiently. Cortisol also supports alertness and focus, especially in the morning. It's therefore an important hormone that helps you stay sharp—as long as it's not active for too long or too often.

How does the daily cycle of cortisol work?

In a healthy body, cortisol follows a natural rhythm. In the early morning, its level rises and peaks somewhere between six and nine o'clock. This wakes you up and makes you alert. It gradually decreases throughout the day, allowing your body to wind down towards evening. It's low towards evening, allowing melatonin, your sleep hormone, to do its job. At night, cortisol remains low, unless something goes wrong—for example, if you wake up in the middle of the night due to restlessness, light, or low blood sugar.

Morning (between 6:00 and 9:00 AM) – Cortisol levels peak. You wake up and feel alert.
Afternoon – it is slowly descending.
Evening – cortisol is low, so melatonin (your sleep hormone) can increase.
Night – cortisol remains low unless you wake up at night or don't sleep well.

This natural cycle is called the cortisol rhythm , and it is crucial for your energy balance.

How does excess cortisol develop?

Cortisol overload occurs when your body receives constant signals of stress. These can be physical stressors, such as lack of sleep, insufficient food, or overtraining, but also mental pressure, such as deadlines, relationship tensions, or perfectionism. Your body doesn't distinguish between a life-threatening situation and a full inbox. Anything you perceive as "stress" triggers the cortisol factory. If this continues for too long, your system becomes overloaded. Your cortisol levels remain high when they should be dropping—and that has consequences.

You may recognize this in yourself if you can check off the following points.

• Difficulty falling asleep or waking up during the night and not being able to fall asleep again
• Non-stop on your phone while doing other tasks, constantly distracted, having trouble completing tasks and preferring to stay on the couch for a long time
• Extreme sugar cravings, cravings for unhealthy foods, belly fat, bad skin or often feeling bloated
• Brain fog, poor concentration, depressed and down feelings
• Often not completely fit, feeling sick, irregular menstruation, low libido

What are the consequences of chronically high cortisol?

If cortisol remains elevated for a long time, your entire system becomes unbalanced. Your sleep deteriorates, you're more often tired yet still stressed, you gain weight around your belly even though you're not even snacking anymore, your memory falters, and you experience brain fog. Your immune system decreases, you recover more slowly, and muscle building becomes more difficult. Other hormones also become imbalanced: your testosterone drops, your thyroid slows down, and your estrogen balance can shift. In short, you feel exhausted, irritable, and no longer yourself. The body then goes into survival mode.

How do you bring cortisol back down?

Fortunately, there's a lot you can do to bring your cortisol levels back into balance. The foundation starts with rest and recovery. Sufficient sleep is essential—preferably at consistent times and in a dark, cool bedroom. Breathing exercises help calm your nervous system, as does walking in nature or disconnecting for a while. Also, ensure your nutrition is consistent: no crash diets or long periods without food. Reduce caffeine, especially in the afternoon. And learn to better manage mental pressure: set boundaries, say no more often, and schedule non-performance moments. You don't have to be "on" all the time. You're not a robot. Even athletes know: you don't get stronger from training, but from recovery.

Take concrete action for yourself

• Sunlight every day in the first hour of the day
• Go to bed at the same time every day and get up at sunrise
• Take a break every hour (without distractions)
• First & last 2 hours of the day without screens
• Quitting sugar, alcohol, drugs and coffee
• Focus on Mother Nature's food (grass-fed meat, bone broth , wild fish, eggs, raw fermented dairy, and seasonal fruits and vegetables)
• Breathwork & yin yoga
• Massages & sauna
• Walking in the woods (!!!)

Finally

Cortisol is a wonderful hormone that helps you perform, stay sharp, and survive. But it must be given the opportunity to taper off in time. It's all about rhythm. About recovery. And about listening to your body's signals. Because if you truly want to live like an athlete, you know: peaking is okay – as long as you also learn to dip.

P.S. Want to learn more about hormonal health? Then definitely check out my book "Work Like an Athlete."