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Good morning! As you probably already know, cortisol is the big hype of 2025. High cortisol levels! Cortisol deficiency! Foods and supplements and practices for balancing that cortisol! We’ve gotten just as obsessed with lowering the levels of this steroid hormone as we are about keeping our collagen levels high.
And that’s life: Certain trends and topics of conversation are cyclical, and right now, what we’re interested in—given our stressful lifestyles—is lowering cortisol levels. Especially when you live in a big city, leave home in a hurry, and get into a crowded subway car: Frankly, it’s hard not to arrive at work stressed, exhausted, and with levels of this tricky hormone skyrocketing. But cortisol is necessary to be able to function and move through the world. As psychologist Brenda de la Peña tells Vogue: “Every morning when we wake up, our body generates a natural cortisol spike that helps us to get up and running. The challenge here is to keep it stable and sufficient for the whole day, preventing it from spiking more than necessary or staying elevated all the time.”
So: The goal is to keep cortisol stable and regular, but without beating ourselves up about being emotionally stressed. What it is about, says de la Peña, “is to raise awareness about the tendency to activate the automatic pilot, [which we do to] save cognitive resources. We live our day to day lives in a fairly automated way, exhausting ourselves, and reacting to things that happen around us. In reality we can simply choose to let them pass. Our energy is limited, and stress does not exactly play in our favor.”
“We must establish a strategic and firm commitment to the habit of consciously choosing what we decide to spend it on,” she adds. “[We must] foster a state of inner calm that allows us to listen to what we need. We can make the small day-to-day decisions with a firm and calm attitude, instead of an anxious one.”
What happens when cortisol is high or unstable?
An established and consistent early morning routine is so important for avoiding your cortisol skyrocketing before you even arrive at the office. And if your mornings are chaotic and stressful? You can expect symptoms like constant exhaustion, irritability, pain, muscle tension, digestive problems, or even hair loss as signs of high cortisol levels. These vary from one person to another, but it’s what should usually raise the alarm about the need to respond differently to everyday life.
Mary Delberghe, a naturopath and hormone expert based in France, explains some of the effects as follows:
- Chronic fatigue and sleep disorders, including difficulty falling asleep, fitful sleep, poor sleep quality.
- Hormonal imbalances that result in irregular menstrual cycles, hormonal disorders, and loss of fertility, particularly in women.
- Weakened immunity and greater vulnerability to infections.
- Chronic inflammation which contributes to risk of arthritis and cardiovascular disorders.
- Fluctuations in blood sugar levels including hypoglycemia, lower energy levels, cravings, and fatigue.
- Weight gain and excess fat storage, particularly in the abdomen.
So what can you do about high cortisol levels? Read on…
As soon as you wake up: Don’t reach for your cell phone
Well, you might have landed here because you did some googling and scrolling, searching for answers for how to lower your high cortisol levels. So this first tip might feel a little redundant—but hear us out.
It’s incredibly difficult to give up that reflexive habit of looking at your cell phone as soon as you wake up. However, as De la Peña confirms, it’s what’s usually causing that first cortisol spike. Instead of exposing ourselves, little by little, to the excess of information and life that surrounds us, we’re forcing it upon ourselves all at once…and with that, stress. “Every little trigger sets off a whole automatic cascade of neurotransmitters, including the famous cortisol, which prepares us to fight an emotional battle, and this prevents us from spending our energy wisely to have the best day,” she says. Consider a clock alarm, don’t answer emails or messages in bed, and avoid looking at your phone for as long as possible.
Or coffee…
It’s a universal habit: Waking up, turning on the coffee machine, and drinking your coffee with half-opened eyes, trusting that the cup will be the antidote to propel you through the day. Sadly though, it’s not the best idea for keeping cortisol levels stable.
“One recommendation that has worked very well for me, and that I give to all my patients, is to eliminate coffee as the first intake in the morning,” says de la Peña. “On a biochemical level, it exacerbates the natural cortisol spike that we all experience at the start of the day.”
Instead, consider a nutritious, slow energy-releasing breakfast, one you enjoy and that makes you feel good for both physical and mental wellbeing. If you drink your coffee even a little later, you’ll experience its benefits all while avoiding those spikes. “Coffee contains caffeine, which is a natural stimulant,” nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, founder of iThrive, previously told Vogue. “This means it can boost your metabolism by increasing the body’s heart rate and energy expenditure. That’s why drinking coffee in the morning—about 90 minutes after waking up—works well, because it syncs up with the body’s natural cortisol rhythm.”
If you want to cut out coffee, you can choose herbal teas, chicory, or matcha instead.
Other tips for stabilizing your cortisol levels
These are certainly some pretty general recommendations for reducing cortisol, and the reality is that not everyone relaxes in the same way. A meditation session or yoga class can be an anti-stress balm for some, while for others, trying to focus on the present moment or doing the tree pose can be a challenge that actually destabilizes their cortisol levels.
Truth is, finding universal tips and tricks for keeping your cortisol levels stable first thing in the morning and when leaving the house is tough. “Recommendations depends a lot on what helps each person to calm their nervous system,” explains de la Peña. “Some people will do better listening to music with headphones, others reading, while some are so tired that they take advantage of the subway ride to sleep and relax. Everyone knows what works best for them to cope with the situation, but what is really important is their level of self-care.” Ultimately: You have to know what personally relaxes and de-stresses you, and consistently seek it out.
Still, there’s one very simple remedy: “When you realize you’re feeling high-stress and at speed, taking a deep breath is the best way to let our brain know that everything is okay,” she says. “It’s easy and free.”
Keep breakfasts sacred
Some people prefer to eat breakfast when they get to the office, or to practice intermittent fasting and do it later, but having a leisurely breakfast is one of the fundamental principles of slow mornings that help keep cortisol spikes at bay. “This way, you let your body know that there is nothing more urgent at that moment than to put the focus on you, to wake up calmly, to be thankful for another day, and to do whatever feels best for you in order to have a good day,” says de la Peña. “When I had high cortisol levels in the morning, I would feel so stressed I couldn’t even eat. Today, for me, breakfast is a sacred and symbolic act towards myself that sends an important message to my brain every morning: You come first, the rest can wait!”
For breakfast, consider something high-protein, like eggs, Greek yogurt, or a protein smoothie. This stabilizes your blood sugar levels and prevents spikes.” And, be sure to drink your morning cup of coffee after you eat breakfast. “Coffee stimulates cortisol production, so be careful not to drink it on an empty stomach or in the morning. Choose herbal teas, chicory or matcha instead,” Delberghe says.
Connect with nature where you can
On an emotional level, anything that can bring more comfort and less conflict—such as getting up on time and establishing certain routines that help you start the day without too much stress—will be of great help to wellbeing.
And amid the rush of the morning, it’s important to remember: You have free will! Taking control of those first few hours will influence your cortisol levels for the rest of the day. That’s why de la Peña insists on the importance of contact with nature. “It is proven that it helps reduce brain activation from beta waves, to alpha and theta waves, associated with states of deep relaxation and creativity,” she says. “So whenever I can, I go outside, slow down the pace and external noise, and reconnect with myself.” For you, that might mean opening the door to your backyard and taking a few minutes to plant your feet on the grass. Maybe it’s opening the window to the fire escape and listening to the breeze. Whatever it is, seize your morning back, and feel those cortisol levels hit their rhythm for your best day yet.
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
