Dr. Carrie Lam, MD: How to lower your cortisol in 11 easy ways.
Do you feel stressed all the time? As if you're tired, but
when you lay down to sleep, your mind starts to work with lots of
thoughts and worries. Are you getting sick more often than
usual and you're struggling to get over it. Like many people in
the modern world, you may be stressed and this means that
your cortisol levels are probably higher than they need
to be. Cortisol is the hormone that gets produced by your
adrenal glands when you're stressed. Cortisol is essential
for your health and continued survival. But when your cortisol
levels are high for a long period of time, it can cause
rampant inflammation, unstable blood sugar levels, waking,
sleeping problems, and a range of other issues. And that's why
it's so important to be able to lower it to normal ranges. But
lowering your cortisol isn't as easy as it sounds as the modern
world is filled up with tiny stressors, and each of them will
encourage your stress levels and your cortisol levels to go even
higher. So you need to fight these tendencies with these 11
Easy Ways on lowering your cortisol levels.
1. Drink more water. Drinking more water can help your body
regulate your cortisol levels and prevent dehydration, which
is a very common cause of stress. 2. Cut out coffee. If
your cortisol levels are high, then you should really try to
reduce your coffee intake, or cut it out altogether, as coffee
has been shown to really stimulate cortisol production
and raise blood pressure. 3. Reduce your sugar intake. Cut
out or reduce your intake of sugary foods like cakes and
pastries and white bread. You want to lower your cortisol and
stress levels. Look for healthier sources of that late
afternoon energy dolt instead. 4. Smart exercise. Exercising
regularly can help lower your cortisol levels but exercising
too much will raise them. So aim to do more moderate low
intensity exercises like yoga, strength training, or walking
for stress reduction. 5. Sleep. Poor sleep is one of the most
common complaints in the modern world and it will also increase
your stress and your cortisol levels. So you want to make sure
to try to get at least seven to eight hours a night to keep your
cortisol levels normal and regularize your circadian
rhythm. 6. Eat regularly. Eating regularly will help
stabilize your blood sugar levels and stop you from stress
eating. This will help you with any weight loss efforts and
lower your cortisol levels at the same time. 7. Cut out
alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant that raises your cortisol levels
and so even one drink a week can raise your cortisol levels by
3%. Try to avoid it as much as possible. 8. Laugh. Laughter
raises your mood and helps release feel good chemicals in
your body while also boosting your immune system. That's why
laughing more is an essential addition to the list. You can
even fake laugh and that will work. 9. Watch your diet. Try to
avoid so called comfort foods as they will only worsen any weight
gain and add toxins to your system. Both of which increase
your cortisol levels. Instead eat more cortisol fighting foods
like bananas or probiotics pears and dark chocolate. 10. Get out
into nature. This is one of my favorites. Getting out into
nature for just 20 minutes a day is one of the best ways to
encourage relaxation, lower your cortisol levels. So next time
you exercise why not take a walk through a park or some other
natural area. 11. Relax and breathe. This is one of the most
important ones you need to relax to lower your stress levels. And
one of the best ways to do this is meditation, which helps to
focus you on the present moment rather than the stressful past
or the future. And you can also try yoga which helps lower
inflammation help fight depression anxiety and help tone
your body at the same time. Underneath both of that is
breathwork. Breathwork is key to stimulating that vagal nerve,
which will help activate the relaxation of the
parasympathetic nervous system, which is the opposite of fight
and flight, helps to rest and digest. Thanks for listening to
what we have today. If you'd like to hear more great tips on
improving your how to lower your cortisol, make sure you click
the subscribe button. Also like and share this video with others
so that we can help those that are suffering with the same
issue. Remember, we're here to empower you to take control of
your health.