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Cortisol management comprises following specific ways that can help you lower the levels of cortisol within your body. It usually requires you to lead a healthy lifestyle with a nutritious diet, sufficient sleep, and regular exercise.
If cortisol levels remain high for a longer time frame, they can cause certain problems such as difficulty sleeping, low energy levels, mood irregularities, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and more. That is why cortisol management is necessary.
In this article, we will discuss some effective cortisol management measures which will help in regulating and checking this stress hormone level.
How to Regulate Cortisol?
1. Proper Sleep Routine
Focusing on getting proper and quality sleep is one of the most effective ways for cortisol management. Sleep issues like insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea might cause you to have higher cortisol levels.
Some measures that you can take to optimize your sleep schedule include having a consistent bed time, establishing the same time for going to sleep or waking up in the morning every day, avoiding alcohol and nicotine, limiting interruptions while sleeping, and reducing exposure to bright light at night.
2. Regular Exercise in Moderation
The intensity of the exercise you do might lead to an increase or decrease in cortisol level. Regular exercise tends to be effective for cortisol management over a period of time as it will reduce stress, enhance sleep quality, and improve overall well-being, which will help in regulating your cortisol levels over a period of time.
You should aim to get some exercise ranging between lower to moderate intensity every day.
3. Maintaining Healthy Relationships
Maintaining healthy relationships with friends and family tends to be a great source of happiness, which is also great for effective stress management. This will also help in cortisol management. For instance, in case of stressful situations, support and encouragement from loved ones might help in reducing the stress level, which in turn will reduce cortisol levels.
Research shows that children from warm and stable families tend to have low cortisol levels in comparison to children who come from homes with high levels of conflict.
4. Follow Nutritious Diet
Your diet can significantly influence the cortisol level for either better or worse. This does not mean that you need to follow a restrictive diet to manage cortisol levels.
However, you need to be conscious of the foods that you eat as certain foods can help in alleviating symptoms and contribute to better management of the cortisol levels. You should also focus on keeping your gut healthy as it will help in improving overall well-being and reducing anxiety and stress. Therefore, a nutritious diet is one of the dynamic methods for cortisol management.
5. Finding Time for Hobbies
Finding time for your hobbies and doing the things that make you happy will also help in managing your cortisol levels. This is because laughter releases endorphins along with suppressing stress hormones like cortisol. This will help in reducing pain and stress while improving your mood and building a better immune system.
How to Check Cortisol Levels?
To check cortisol levels, medical professionals usually take a blood test. Since your cortisol level varies throughout the day, medical professionals might have you take the test early in the morning. You will be asked not to do any vigorous exercise the day before the test, along with temporarily stopping the medication that is likely to affect tests such as androgens, estrogens, and anti-seizure drugs.
If your cortisol levels appear higher in tests than normal, it may indicate cushing disease, ectopic cushing syndrome, adrenal gland tumor, stress, or acute illness. However, lower than normal cortisol levels might indicate Addison disease, suppression of adrenal function, normal pituitary gland, or hypopituitarism.
How to Stop Cortisol Weight Gain?
The best way to stop cortisol weight gain is by following tips for cortisol management including regular exercise, indulging in hobbies, restricting your caffeine intake, eating a wholesome diet, getting adequate sleep, and more.
Overall, cortisol management requires you to lead a healthy lifestyle along with doing things that are also good for your mental health.
