How to Manage Cortisol and Stress for Energy, Mood, and Sleep

Article Highlights:

• Cortisol and stress influence energy, sleep, mood, metabolism, and overall resilience
• Chronic stress disrupts cortisol rhythms, increasing fatigue, weight gain, and poor sleep
• Specific nutrients and daily habits help restore cortisol balance and improve stress tolerance

Life is full of surprises and change, isn’t it? Weather events, family changes and dynamics, breaking news, work, and so much more provide ongoing surprises and demands that grab and require your attention. 

With life’s surprises comes many emotional and physical feelings that provoke the release of stress hormones like cortisol. The knot in your gut, feeling butterflies or anxiety, neck and shoulder tightness, breathing with your chest/short shallow breaths, sweaty palms and arm pits, and dry mouth are common experiences. 

Digestive upset, stress eating, and/or lack of appetite may occur. Perhaps after the event or end of the day you feel tired and wired and have restless sleep or full-blown insomnia. These reactions reflect your body’s response to stress with cortisol and other stress compounds in response to these demands.

Many stressors are long-lasting with ongoing deadlines and responsibilities that take a chronic toll on your body. Often, the effects of stress are ignored until things build up to the point that health declines or you feel much older than you are. 

Research shows that psychological stress poses some of the most challenging stress effects on health, more than many physical illnesses or mishaps. When there is continual mental or emotional stress, it takes a toll on your body and your wellbeing, perhaps more than you may realize. Along with healthy relationships and social connections, managing your body’s stress tolerance and cortisol balance is essential to surviving and thriving in today’s ever-changing world.

Cortisol: Your Stress Hormone

Cortisol is a steroid hormone primarily produced in the adrenal glands in response to signals from the brain via hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis). Small amounts are also produced locally in the thymus gland, intestines, brain, and skin to help maintain cellular homeostasis. 

Healthy cortisol levels are necessary for numerous functions in your body, including morning energy, thyroid and mitochondrial function, and overall ATP production. In proper amounts, cortisol is involved with blood sugar stability, bone density, brain function and emotional health, immune system function, skin and collagen regeneration, muscle and cartilage repair, cytokine production, weight management, and sleep quality. Almost every tissue in your body has receptor sites for cortisol making it crucial for healthy balance. 

Excessive, low, or irregular patterns of cortisol production affect the function and health of these relationships and alter the gut microbiome. High cortisol and chronic stress produce high amounts of oxidative stress that damages RNA, DNA, lipids, proteins, and other compounds, while disrupting and depleting antioxidant defense systems. These imbalances add to life stress and total body stress loads. 

Cortisol Rhythms

Cortisol levels normally rise in the early morning hours, reaching peak levels between 6AM-8AM. Levels gradually decline over the course of the day. Natural cortisol has a half-life of about 60-120 minutes, so it can take several hours for it to fully clear.  

Cortisol rhythms can become irregular or out of rhythm with low morning cortisol levels that spike later in the day or even at bedtime. These types of patterns reflect HPA/brain stress rhythm dysregulation rather than an adrenal gland dysfunction. Shift work, irregular schedules, depression, chronic stress, concussions/brain injury, gut microbiome dysbiosis, and other concerns may lead to this rhythm dysfunction. 

Cortisol output in response to acute and chronic stress can lose its natural balance and circadian rhythm that can manifest in different ways. The article Adaptogens, Stress, and the HPA Axis describe in detail three stages of these stress responses – stressed and wired, stressed and tired, and exhaustion.  

Fundamentals for Stress and Cortisol Management

No matter what stress levels you may experience, there are fundamental needs that our bodies depend upon to manage cortisol balance and associated oxidative stress. These daily behaviors and focused nutritional support can help you get through life stress with less wear and tear and improved resiliency. Here are some helpful tips and resources! 

Maintain a Schedule

Your body has numerous body clocks that affect the regulation of cortisol production. You can help natural cortisol circadian rhythms by getting up at the same time in the morning and going to bed ideally by 10PM, no later than midnight. Exposure to natural light or a SAD lamp first thing in the morning supports circadian rhythm-cortisol entrainment and turns on vital morning energy. 

Chronic or severe acute stress, especially when combined with irregular schedules, can alter normal cortisol patterns. Maintaining the natural daylight/nighttime schedule is essential for cortisol regulation and synchronicity of circadian-hormone rhythms. If you work nights or have rotating shift work, do your best to maintain a consistent schedule and optimize as many other things as possible. 

Meals

Breakfast within 60-90 minutes of awakening also helps to support energy, metabolism and blood sugar management which supports healthier cortisol management. Choose real food, higher protein content with some complex carbohydrates, and good fats to sustain energy. 

Skipping meals during times of stress may seem innocent but can add to the metabolic stress and provide less nourishment for your increased needs. Blood spikes and crashes from ultra-processed foods, skipping meals, then eating everything in sight, and/or relying on massive caffeine or other quick fixes adds more oxidative stress and contributes to additional cortisol imbalances affecting mitochondria, adrenals and thyroid energetics. 

Exercise

Exercise is a great way to help manage stress. Physical activity and exercise tolerance, however, can vary greatly from person to person. Find something that helps you maintain a steady, calm energy. For some individuals, a leisurely stroll in a nature area is ideal to help calm stress, especially when energy reserves are weak or even fragile. 

Some individuals may prefer energetic types of exercise like running, basketball, a peppy game of pickleball, or other more rigorous activities which increases endorphins and may help “burn off some steam”. 

If you find that exercise causes you to “crash and burn” from fatigue and/or increase pain in the hours or days later, you will need to decrease the amount of exercise or choose something with less impact. Choosing things you enjoy and generally recover well from helps you gain strength, improve mood, and get quality sleep. 

Nutrients for Stress and Cortisol Management

Nutritional support is even more essential when under chronic stress with high or dysfunctional cortisol levels. Cortisol imbalances increase oxidative stress causing tissues more stress and dysfunction. Here are some of the most important nutrients. 

B Vitamins

All B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and B12) are critical for your body’s stress and cortisol management. All organs, tissues, and mitochondria require B vitamins for function, repair, and vitality. Of great importance are vitamins B1, B5, and B12 to sustain your body’s ability to manage stress and retain resiliency. 

Pantethine, the bioactive form of vitamin B5, is especially important for adrenal gland function and cortisol management. Studies show pantethine enhances the communication signals of the HPA axis supporting cortisol production. If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, consider 300-600 mg of Pantethine to support your morning energy production. Or take mid-afternoon to help energy slumps.  

Vitamin C

The adrenal glands and brain are intense users of vitamin C and require a large store of this versatile antioxidant. It has dual regulatory properties in cortisol management amongst many other benefits. In the adrenal glands, vitamin C participates in the production of pregnenolone, a steroid precursor for natural cortisol production. It quenches oxidative stress in the adrenal glands, supporting cortisol balance. Vitamin C modulates the HPA axis and provides antioxidant support for the brain. It is helpful for acute and chronic stress. 

Vitamin D and Vitamin E

Vitamins D and E are essential for stress and cortisol management. A recent review study evaluated cortisol effects on football players. Results showed that vitamin D3 played a protective role against cortisol stress, enhancing recovery. Other studies show that vitamin E supports and protects adrenal gland function and stress response against oxidative stress induced by cortisol and stress. 

Magnesium

Magnesium is needed for hundreds of different signaling pathways, neurotransmitters, and regulatory mechanisms that manage stress response throughout your body. In times of mental, physical, and emotional stress, the activity levels of magnesium dependent pathways increase, requiring more magnesium to meet the demands. When this critical mineral is lacking in your body, cells are more susceptible to the effects of stress, creating a vicious cycle of increased stress reactions and loss of stress tolerance. 

Zinc and Selenium

Zinc, the second most abundant trace mineral needed for health, is needed for hundreds of cell-signaling, transport and antioxidant activities. A small clinical trial identified that both insufficient and excess intake of zinc affects cortisol production and balance. Consistent low-moderate supplemental intake of 30 mg or less/day was preferred in this study. Prolonged zinc intake at 40 mg or more per day without copper can lead to imbalances.  

Selenium is another trace mineral that affects the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-thyroid (HPAT) axis. Research shows selenium plays several important roles as an antioxidant and cell-signaling nutrient. Deficits of selenium have been shown to increase oxidative stress in the adrenal glands which creates additional cortisol dysregulation.

Adaptogenic Herbs

Adaptogenic herbs like rhodiola, Holy basil, eleutherococcus, cordyceps, ashwagandha, and gamma oryzanol help your brain and adrenal glands balance and restore stress tolerance responses. They act like a tonic when feeling run down and also help to calm down stress signals. Adaptogenic herbs are well known for their multifaceted impact on helping the HPAT axis and have been used in traditional Ayurvedic and Asian medicine for centuries to manage the effects of stress.

Consider adaptogenic herbs when you feel burned out, mentally or physically tired and exhausted, or overwhelmed and “out of gas”. Here are two brief highlights. 

Rhodiola has a long-standing history for strength, endurance, vitality, as well as immune support, and fertility. It supports muscle recovery, energy production and mitochondrial stress related to physical activity. Rhodiola provides protective support for the brain, cardiovascular systems, muscles, and adrenal glands during times of stress as it works with the HPA axis, nitric oxide production, and mitochondria.  

Gamma oryzanol is a phytochemical from rice bran that helps your body respond and adapt the metabolic effects of cortisol stress. It provides support as an antioxidant, buffers histamine release, assists in leptin and other appetite hormone signaling.

Gamma oryzanol provides antioxidant protection against LPS toxins released from gut dysbiosis and for the memory center of the brain. In animal studies, results showed gamma oryzanol supports the modulation of appetite regulating centers and neurotransmitters in response to high fat diets.  

Protect the Gut Microbiome and Barrier Too

Acute and chronic stress changes the gut microbiome and is a strong factor for increased intestinal permeability. The gut microbiome has also been identified as a strong regulator of circadian rhythms and the HPA axis. 

Protect your gut microbiome and lining with support such as Tributyrin Plus, Quercetin Phytosome + Luteolin, Leptinal, and Super Dophilus. 

Supplements to Optimize Cortisol Management

•    Daily Energy Multiple Vitamin or Super Coenzyme B Complex

•    Pantethine or Stress Helper

•    Vitamin C Capsules or Buffered C Powder

•    Vitamin D3 1000 IU, 2500 IU, or Vitamin D3 + K2

•    Daily Super E, Daily Protector Eye & Immune, or Leptinal

•    Muscle Mag or RelaxaMag

•    Strengthener Plus

•    Adrenal Helper

Whether young, middle-aged, or elderly, everyone has stress. Helping your body mitigate the effects of high, low or imbalanced cortisol levels from life stress is essential to maintaining your resiliency. Your nutrient status greatly impacts how well your body produces, reacts, and repairs in response to stress. Unmitigated stress and cortisol are a fast way to prematurely age. Are you keeping up with your stress nutrient needs?