Tired, Wired, And Stuck? Your Stress Hormones Might Be To Blame

At the end of a tiring day, everyone loves a good meal and their favourite sugary dessert. But despite the workout routine and diet you have finally set after months of planning, it is not showing any promising results. Maybe you also have to pay attention to your hormones, especially cortisol.

Known as the “Stress Hormone,” cortisol is a crucial component that determines how your body stores fat, utilizes energy, and even how well you sleep. This particular hormone is safe in small amounts, but the real trouble begins when it increases beyond the recommended levels. With that said, let’s learn how to lower cortisol naturally.

What Is Cortisol?

Cortisol is produced by your body whenever it goes through stress. These hormones are released from your adrenal glands, which are located on top of your kidneys. Now, here is the twist: this hormone comes into play whenever you are in danger. Whenever your brain thinks your body is in danger, cortisol is released into the body to raise the heart rate, give blood a quick boost of sugar, thus giving you enough energy for the fight or flight response.

Cortisol helped our ancestors survive and stay alert during dangers, like escaping lions or angry warthogs. Now, it turns on during Zoom calls and group chats. That’s the real problem: your brain doesn’t know the difference between a real threat and the stress you feel from work emails, skipped meals, poor sleep, or doomscrolling on your phone.

Doomscrolling isn’t a direct symptom of high cortisol, but it can be part of a vicious cycle involving elevated stress levels.

What Does Cortisol Do?

In short bursts, cortisol helps you survive. But in long stretches, it can wear your body down.

Here’s what cortisol does in your body:

• Increases blood sugar to give you energy.
• Tells your body to store fat, especially around the belly.
• Makes you crave sugar and salty foods.
• Affects your sleep-wake cycle.
• Slows digestion and recovery.
• Breaks down muscle for fuel during high stress.

That’s why you can do all the “right” things and still not feel better. If cortisol is always high, your body isn’t in fat-burning mode; it’s in survival mode. In one study, women with higher cortisol levels had more belly fat, even if their total weight wasn’t high. (Epel et al., 2000)

How To Lower Cortisol Naturally?

You don’t need to quit your job or go and live in a forest. But you do need to tell your body it’s safe. That means focusing on habits that calm the nervous system, stabilize your blood sugar, and support your natural stress rhythm.

1. Breathe Before Meals

Take five slow breaths before eating. This switches your body into “rest and digest” mode, improving digestion and lowering stress. One study found that slow breathing reduced cortisol and boosted attention in healthy adults (Ma et al., 2017).

2. Get Sunlight In The Morning

Natural light in the first hour of your day resets your cortisol rhythm. It helps you feel alert in the morning and sleepy at night.

3. Walk After Meals

Walking after meals helps lower blood sugar and cortisol. It also improves digestion and clears your head.

4. Lift Weights A Few Times A Week

Too much cardio can raise cortisol. Strength training builds muscle, reduces stress, and boosts long-term fat burning. Studies show resistance training, in moderation, reduces baseline cortisol (Zouhal et al., 2008).

5. Cut Screen Time At Night

Blue light from phones and TVs blocks melatonin, the hormone that helps you sleep. Aim to shut down screens at least 30 minutes before bed.

Signs Your Cortisol Might Be High

Could not figure out whether your cortisol is high? Here are the various signs that you need to look out for.

• Waking up tired despite the 7 – 8 hours of sleep.
• Not being able to sleep is also a sign of high cortisol.
• You hold fat around your midsection.
• Feeling drained or mood changes without any reason.
• Craving sugar, caffeine, or salty snacks all the time.
• You struggle to recover from workouts.
• You feel anxious or overstimulated much of the time.

What To Eat To Support Healthy Cortisol?

Foods are a great way to manage good cortisol levels in the body.

• Spinach, pumpkin seeds, and avocado are packed with magnesium, which helps calm your nervous system.
• Salmon, chia seeds, and walnuts are rich in omega-3s that fight off stress-related inflammation.
• Protein helps keep your blood sugar stable, which keeps cortisol in balance.
• Whole grains and legumes are full of B vitamins that support brain health and steady energy.
• One simple way to lower cortisol? Don’t skip meals. When your blood sugar dips, your body releases cortisol to bring it back up, so regular meals with protein and fiber matter.

The Cortisol-Fat Connection

Let’s be clear: cortisol doesn’t make you gain fat alone. But it does create the perfect storm for it.

When cortisol is high:

• You feel hungrier, especially for salty or sugary snacks.
• Your sleep takes a hit, which messes with hunger hormones and makes cravings worse.
• You start to lose muscle, and that slows down your metabolism.
• Your body tends to store more fat around your belly, even if the number on the scale doesn’t change.

Why Cortisol Matters More Than You Think

At the same time, cortisol is not the enemy that you need your body needs to fight off. In fact, it greatly contributes to your body to wake up, focus, and handle pressure throughout the day. When cortisol is running at healthy levels, your body feels safe, and that’s when good things happen: you burn fat more efficiently, build muscle faster, and sleep more deeply. But when your body stays in stress mode, even if you’re eating well and working out regularly, progress can stall.

Sleep deprivation raises cortisol levels the next day.

Learning to manage your stress response is one of the best things you can do for long-term health, strength, and fat loss.

TL;DR

• Cortisol is a stress hormone that helps your body react fast.
• It messes with fat loss, sleep, and energy when it stays high for too long.
• You can lower cortisol with daily habits like walking, breathing, sunlight, and strength training.
• Eating protein, omega-3s, and magnesium-rich foods supports hormone balance.
• Don’t ignore your stress. Train your body to recover from it.

If you’re struggling to manage stress on your own, working with our personal life coach can help you build lasting habits that restore balance, reduce cortisol, and unlock the results you’ve been working for.

Sources & Further Read

• Epel, E. et al. (2000). Stress and body shape: Stress-induced cortisol secretion is consistently greater among women with central fat. Obesity Research, 8(6), 505–511. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11020091/
• Ma, X. et al. (2017). The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect, and stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Psychology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28626434/
  Zouhal, H. et al. (2008). Catecholamines and the effects of exercise, training, and gender. Sports Medicine, 38(5), 401–423. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18416594/
• O’Byrne NA, Yuen F, Butt WZ, Liu PY. Sleep and Circadian Regulation of Cortisol: A Short Review. Curr Opin Endocr Metab Res. 2021 Jun;18:178-186. doi: 10.1016/j.coemr.2021.03.011. Epub 2021 May 5. PMID: 35128146; PMCID: PMC8813037. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8813037/
• Sinha R, Gu P, Hart R, Guarnaccia JB. Food craving, cortisol, and ghrelin responses in modeling highly palatable snack intake in the laboratory. Physiol Behav. 2019 Sep 1;208:112563. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.112563. Epub 2019 May 27. PMID: 31145919; PMCID: PMC6620125. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31145919/
• Velasco-Orjuela GP, Domínguez-Sanchéz MA, Hernández E, Correa-Bautista JE, Triana-Reina HR, García-Hermoso A, Peña-Ibagon JC, Izquierdo M, Cadore EL, Hackney AC, Ramírez-Vélez R. Acute effects of high-intensity interval, resistance or combined exercise protocols on testosterone-cortisol responses in inactive overweight individuals. Physiol Behav. 2018 Oct 1;194:401-409. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.06.034. Epub 2018 Jun 22. PMID: 29940266. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29940266/
• Scheer FA, Buijs RM. Light affects morning salivary cortisol in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1999 Sep;84(9):3395-8. doi: 10.1210/jcem.84.9.6102. PMID: 10487717. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10487717/