REDUCING CORTISOL LEVELS 

 Navigating how to lower your cortisol levels is key to your overall health and wellness! When a person is stressed, overworked, or “on edge,” their body releases a stress hormone called cortisol into their bloodstream. This hormone triggers our “fight or flight response,” also known as our sympathetic nervous system, which is our body’s response to escape danger. Increased heart rate, constricted breathing, anxiety, restlessness, and other symptoms may occur. As a result, if one creates too much cortisol, these adverse health complications can occur as a result of the body’s heightened stress condition. Fortunately, there are numerous natural methods for lowering cortisol levels in the body! In this blog, we’ll go through the top five ways to lower cortisol levels and improve our overall health and wellness. 

1. Getting Enough Sleep: Sleep plays an essential role in our cortisol levels, and a lack of it has been associated with elevated cortisol levels in the bloodstream, causing the body to be in a state of stress during the day. The relationship between sleep and cortisol goes hand in hand. Elevated cortisol levels have been linked to a poor night’s sleep, and those who have trouble sleeping frequently experience an increase in cortisol. Therefore, prioritizing your sleep can help lower cortisol levels.
2. Nutrition & Diet: Our diet and nutrition habits can make or break our cortisol levels. Research has shown that a diet including processed foods, sugar, and excess caffeine that provide little to no nutritional value has been shown to increase unnecessary cortisol levels. Focusing on eating whole foods rich in nutrition can help maintain healthy cortisol levels, and improve our overall health as well! With proper diet and nutrition, our bodies will absorb the nutrients and minerals it needs to function correctly and lessen excess cortisol in the bloodstream. Because our cortisol levels are highest in the morning, strategies such as intermittent fasting might cause a cortisol rise. To address this issue, ensure that you break your fast with a nutritious meal within 30 minutes of waking up. To see which foods will benefit your body specifically, consider booking a Food Zyto scan and consultation here at Restoration Wellness!
3. Supplements: For decades, proper supplementation has been shown to alleviate elevated cortisol levels. Supplements such as Ashwagandha, Omegas-3, Chamomile, Magnesium, Vitamin C, Rhodiola, and Holy Basil are just a few of the many that can be utilized to reduce cortisol in the body, depending on each individual’s needs. To see which supplements will benefit your specific body, consider getting a consultation here at Restoration Wellness today!
4. Exercise Regularly: Regular low-intensity and strength training exercises can not only transform your physique, health, wellness, and metabolism, but studies have also shown that exercising can change the neurochemicals in your brain, reducing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Exercising not only reduces stress hormones, but it also activates and creates endorphins, which aid in the body’s natural mood lifters and overall wellness. A slow walk can help reduce cortisol levels since our heart rate remains constant without a dramatic rise up or down, unlike high-intensity exercises like sprinting. 
5. Hydration: Hydration is KEY to keeping cortisol levels balanced. Water plays a huge role in how our bodies function and how we maintain homeostasis; after all, the human body is 60% water! As a result, when we are dehydrated, our bodies struggle to operate properly and release excessive cortisol. Consuming enough water every day is crucial for lowering cortisol as well as improving many other aspects of our health. Adding electrolytes to your water can help your body process water intake, which will maximize hydration levels more effectively than without. Here is a link to the best electrolytes with no sugars, dyes, or preservatives. 

There are so many different approaches to reducing cortisol levels in the body naturally using the 5 tips above. As always, the proof is in the pudding, and you should feel the difference using these different techniques. Here at Restoration Wellness, our goal is to help you accomplish your individual health and wellness goals through natural medicine, herbs, detox programs, consultations, and a variety of other services. Contact us today at 508-769-3682 to get more information on our services. Here’s to investing in our health and wellness!