Although cortisol gets a bad rap as the “stress hormone,” it’s actually crucial to overall health. It serves many functions in the body beyond just regulating the fight-or-flight response, including memory formation, blood sugar and metabolism regulation, and inflammation reduction.
Where things can go sideways, though, is when cortisol levels get too high. This can lead to a variety of undesirable long-term health issues and can also impact your quality of life.
Here’s how to recognize high cortisol levels and what to do about them.
Looking for solutions for better sleep?
Take our quiz to build a bespoke testing plan that will help you find ways to naturally improve your sleep.
What do high cortisol levels mean?
Cushing’s syndrome is the term for too-high levels of cortisol in the body. These elevated levels can result from taking high doses of corticosteroid medications, but they can also simply result from your body producing too much cortisol.
High cortisol levels might mean a few different things, and following are some of the factors that can lead to high cortisol.
Stress and anxiety
Stress triggers your body’s adrenal glands, which release hormones including cortisol and adrenaline. The idea is that this physical response, which raises your heart rate and blood pressure and heightens your awareness, would help you respond quickly to an external threat.
However, if you experience chronic or frequent stress, this cortisol release doesn’t always turn off and allow your body to go back to normal as it’s supposed to. This can be bad because it means that any functions that aren’t directly tied to your fight-or-flight response are basically put on hold.
Pituitary gland conditions
Your brain’s pituitary gland controls the secretion of multiple hormones including cortisol. Problems with the pituitary gland can cause it to overproduce (or underproduce) hormones, and this can directly lead to elevated cortisol levels by stimulating overproduction of cortisol by the adrenal glands.
Side effects of medications
Some medications can actually contribute to high cortisol levels. This includes oral contraceptives as well as long-term or high-dose corticosteroids used to treat conditions like arthritis, asthma, and other inflammatory conditions.
Adrenal gland tumors
Tumors on the adrenal glands, which are responsible for producing cortisol, can be either benign or malignant and can lead to Cushing’s syndrome. These tumors are most commonly benign adenomas, and are found in 1 in 10 people who have an imaging test of their adrenal gland.
However, adrenal gland tumors are not usually the cause of high cortisol levels, so there is no reason to be alarmed. If you suspect that adrenal gland tumors are the cause of your cortisol issues, check other signs and symptoms and visit your doctor.
High estrogen levels
In people for whom estrogen is their primary sex hormone, one of the most common causes of high cortisol is actually high estrogen, which may result from pregnancy or estrogen therapy.
Long-term effects of high cortisol
We all know too much stress is bad for us. But what does it do, exactly? High cortisol can disrupt many different bodily processes and lead to various negative effects, including:
- Anxiety and depression
- Weight gain
- Thinning skin or easy bruising
- Memory impairment and brain fog
- Acne
- Mood swings
- Insomnia, or severe fatigue
- Digestive issues and headaches
- Muscle pain and weakness
- Heart attack, heart disease, stroke, or high blood pressure
These symptoms are pretty wide-ranging, and could also be linked to other underlying health conditions. The symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome are a bit more specific: weight gain and development of fatty areas in the face, gut, and between the shoulder blades; purple stretch marks; thinning skin; and slow-healing injuries.
Can you improve cortisol levels through diet?
Your nutrition can impact your cortisol levels. Eating poorly can lead to high cortisol while eating a healthy, balanced diet can help alleviate stress and regulate cortisol levels.
High quantities of added sugars may lead to elevated cortisol, but inversely can also interfere with the appropriate release of cortisol during actual stressful events, making it more difficult to handle high-stress situations. A healthy gut microbiome, supported by a balanced diet, is also tied to improved mental health and may lower experiences of stress and anxiety.
As for specific foods that can help regulate cortisol, these are a good place to start:
- Water: Dehydration can cause cortisol spikes.
- Whole grains: These support the microbiome better than refined grains.
- Probiotics and prebiotics: Found in foods like yogurt, kimchi, and foods high in soluble fiber, these are linked to improved gut health and, by extension, mental health.
- Green tea: The L-theanine in green tea can have a calming effect.
- Legumes and lentils: Their high fiber content supports a healthy gut and regulates blood sugar.
- Healthy fats: Eating healthy sources of polyunsaturated fats, especially omega-3s, is linked to better mental health. Fatty fish, seeds, and nuts offer high levels of healthy fats.
- Dark chocolate: The flavonoids in dark chocolate can reduce stress reactivity in the adrenal glands.
What supplements can help improve cortisol levels?
While there’s no cure-all pill for regulating cortisol, there are a few supplements and herbs that might improve cortisol levels:
- Ashwagandha: This ancient herbal supplement may improve resistance to stress and reduce cortisol levels when taken daily.
- Rhodiola: This adaptogen has been used for centuries to treat anxiety and fatigue. It’s thought to help users better respond to stressful situations.
- Lemon balm: While more research is needed, some studies indicate that lemon balm can alleviate stress and anxiety while boosting cognitive function.
- Chamomile: Many people drink chamomile tea before bedtime for its calming, gently sedative properties.
Lifestyle changes to improve cortisol
How you live affects how you feel. But you don’t have to turn your whole life upside down in order to address high cortisol levels! Here are some basic changes you can make to support a healthy stress response.
Get enough sleep
The first step here is to prioritize sleep. When possible, aim for seven to nine hours, ideally with regular sleep/wake times --- even on weekends. While it can be hard to choose sleep over things that feel more important, like socializing or having time for yourself, the reality is that it’ll be more difficult to enjoy those parts of life while deprived of sleep.
Exercise
This one sounds simple enough, but how and when you exercise actually makes a difference. Regular exercise can have a long-term positive effect on stress, sleep, and overall health. But you shouldn’t overdo it, as overly intense exercise can actually increase cortisol, nor should you exercise too close to bedtime, as that can interfere with sleep.
Practice meditation and mindfulness
Some research suggests that mindfulness meditation can actually lower cortisol levels in the blood. In general, practices that promote mindful breathing, like meditation, yoga, and tai chi, can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and bring about feelings of relaxation and calm.
Try therapy
Speaking to a licensed therapist can help you develop healthy strategies and coping mechanisms to deal with stressors. If you experience high cortisol related to chronic stress or general anxiety, therapy is worth considering.
How to monitor your cortisol levels
When it comes to your hormone levels, a one-time snapshot doesn’t offer the whole picture of your health. That’s why monitoring your cortisol levels over time is ideal --- so you can see which adjustments are working and which aren’t.
There are a few ways to monitor your cortisol levels over time, and you should choose an approach that best fits your needs. You can get in-person lab work done on a regular basis, or you can opt for a service like Base that allows you to easily monitor your levels of cortisol, and other hormones and nutrients, without leaving home or making appointments.
Base’s Stress Testing Plan makes it easy to take your health into your own hands with a data-driven approach. And beyond helping you track your cortisol levels, it’ll also give you tangible suggestions for lifestyle changes and supplementation, which means you’re actually equipped to act on the data you’re given and move toward your health goals.Melatonin is often the go-to recommendation for sleep issues. Whether you’re searching for information online or receiving unsolicited advice from a friend, melatonin tends to be the first suggestion for getting better sleep.
However, not everyone can take melatonin, and it doesn’t work the same way for each person. It may cause undesirable side effects, interact with certain medications, or simply not work as promised for all types of people or sleep disturbances.
If you find yourself in this category --- one of the many people looking for alternatives to melatonin --- then take comfort in knowing that options exist. There are plenty of other vitamins and supplements you can take or lifestyle and environmental changes you can make in lieu of melatonin supplementation.
What is melatonin?
Simply put, melatonin is a hormone your body produces when it’s dark in order to help you sleep. Working in tandem with cortisol, which is the hormone your body releases in response to daylight, melatonin helps regulate your circadian rhythm. The balance of these two hormones is what’s responsible for your daily sleep/wake cycle.
When it functions properly, melatonin production does not happen during daytime, but begins when night falls. It’s important to note that this hormone doesn’t knock you out or induce immediate sleep like a sleeping pill. Instead, it reacts to nighttime by relaxing you, reducing your core body temperature, and letting your body know it’s time for rest. In addition to helping you fall asleep, it also contributes to sleep duration and quality.
In an ideal scenario, your body would make enough melatonin for you to achieve restful, restorative slumber every night without assistance. However, there are plenty of lifestyle and health factors that can interfere with melatonin production, including overexposure to artificial light at night, insufficient exposure to light during the day, too-high levels of stress or cortisol, jet lag, shift work, aging, and smoking.
Why is melatonin such a popular sleep supplement?
Melatonin is a popular sleep supplement for a few reasons. First, it’s gentler than Benadryl or prescription sleeping pills. It’s simply supplementing a naturally occurring sleep hormone to help you relax and doze off.
Beyond that, it has few side effects and doesn’t typically create the next-morning hangover feeling that Benadryl and sleeping pills can (though it can lead to sleepier-than-usual mornings for some). It’s less likely to cause drug interactions than many sleeping pills, but it still offers an instantaneous sleep solution that doesn’t require long-term lifestyle changes. It’s also non-habit forming, so your body shouldn’t develop a dependence on it, and it’s generally considered safe for short-term use in most people.
In short: when you take an appropriate dose, this is a fairly mild supplement that may provide immediate sleep assistance. So it’s no surprise it’s so popular. In fact, according to survey data from the National Institutes of Health, melatonin is the fourth most-used dietary supplement by adults. Some of the most common uses for melatonin supplements include jet lag relief and circadian rhythm regulation for people with work schedules that don’t follow typical day/night cycles.
However, melatonin supplementation isn’t a cure-all. It isn’t generally recommended as a long-term solution due to a lack of research. Side effects, though not common, can be unpleasant: headaches, dizziness, nausea, daytime fatigue. There are medications that interact with melatonin, including some SSRIs and Benadryl. Beyond that, experts don’t recommend melatonin for people with depression, autoimmune disorders, bleeding disorders, high blood pressure, seizure disorders, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. In all, this makes up a pretty significant number of people who can’t take melatonin, on top of people for whom the supplement simply doesn’t work as intended.
Best alternatives to melatonin
Good news: there are plenty of alternatives to melatonin.
But before you start adding supplements left and right or making drastic changes to your lifestyle, it’s helpful to know exactly what might be causing your sleeping issues so you can address them directly. This is where Base comes in.
The at-home sleep testing plan can help you pinpoint exactly what’s happening with your underlying health that could be leading to sleep disturbances. Plus, the app offers specific suggestions that can guide you in supplementation and daily adjustments so that you aren’t relying on guesswork.
Following are some of the most common non-melatonin sleep solutions:
Valerian root
Valerian root, an herb native to Europe and Asia that’s been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, is one of the most popular melatonin supplement alternatives. It’s been called “nature’s Valium” for its calming and sleep-inducing effects, and research demonstrates that it actually does function similarly to anti-anxiety medications like Valium and Xanax --- by inhibiting the breakdown of GABA in the brain, which may lead to feelings of calmness and provide relief from stress.
There are multiple studies suggesting that valerian root can help you sleep better, but like melatonin, this tends to vary from person to person. Some people who are looking for a melatonin alternative might consider valerian root because it’s gentle and doesn’t often cause side effects. However, it’s best to consult with a doctor before adding a new supplement to your routine, especially if you have a serious health condition or are pregnant.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a necessary mineral for the body’s systems, and we typically get it from our diet. Some of the many functions performed by magnesium are sleep-related: it helps you relax, it regulates melatonin, etc. But both too-high and too-low levels of magnesium could cause sleep problems, meaning it’s important to get just the right amount of this mineral to achieve quality sleep.
That said, magnesium supplementation can be complicated. Even when taken in smaller doses, it can cause side effects like cramping, nausea, or diarrhea and can interfere with antibiotics and blood pressure medications. For this reason, it’s best to consult with a medical professional before you add a magnesium supplement to your routine.
Chamomile
Most commonly ingested as a bedtime tea, chamomile is actually an ancient herbal medicine that’s traditionally been used to treat ailments including insomnia and anxiety. Though the studies supporting chamomile’s effects on sleep are insufficient, when taken as a tea in reasonable doses (like one cup per day before bedtime), it’s safe for most people without chamomile allergies and offers a very simple and gentle melatonin alternative.
Glycine
Glycine is an amino acid that your body needs to make hormones and enzymes as well as to grow and repair tissue. Your body naturally produces glycine, but you can also get it from protein-rich foods or from supplements. Research demonstrates positive effects of glycine supplementation on sleep quality, cognition, ease of falling asleep, and daytime alertness. You can add glycine to your diet through drink powders (similar to a protein shake), or you can simply increase your meat or collagen intake. As with any supplement, check with your doctor before adding glycine to your diet.
Meditation
If you’re looking for non-supplement alternatives to melatonin, meditation is a great place to start. This is a positive and side-effect-free practice benefitting overall health, and it seems to be specifically helpful for people experiencing stress-related sleep issues. Plus, meditation can be added to your daily or weekly routine without too much disruption. There are plenty of apps, videos, and resources available online to help you get started at home, and you can start with brief weekly sessions and build from there.
Lifestyle changes
Beyond meditation, there are other lifestyle changes you can make to improve your sleep:
- Cut down on alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. These substances can interfere with your sleep cycle, even if you don’t consume them immediately before bed.
- Avoid exercising before bed, and instead, opt for restful bedtime practices like reading or taking a bath.
- Limit napping during the day, as this can actually contribute to restless nights.
- Do what you can to manage your stress, and seek professional assistance if you’re having trouble managing stress on your own.
Improved sleep hygiene
Your sleep hygiene can have a big impact on the quality and duration of your sleep. The following suggestions can help you improve your sleep hygiene:
- Stick to a sleep schedule the best you can --- including on weekends. Try not to skip sleep if you can avoid it, and ideally set a morning alarm at around the same time every day.
- Avoid screens and dim your lights for the last 30-60 minutes of your day before you go to bed. Artificial light can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin and make it difficult to sleep.
- Make sure your sleeping environment is a comfortable one. Block out light with a sleeping mask or thick curtains, set a cool but cozy temperature, minimize noise disturbances with earplugs or a white noise machine, and make sure your mattress and pillows keep you comfortable.
Keep in mind: what helps you get better sleep is different for everyone. You can test out different changes or supplements to see what works for you, but you can also consider a service like Base to get more targeted suggestions to address your sleeping problems.
Looking for solutions for better sleep?
Take our quiz to build a bespoke testing plan that will help you find ways to naturally improve your sleep.
