{"id":548004,"date":"2026-07-13T20:16:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/548004\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:16:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:16:29","slug":"3-common-signs-of-high-cortisol-and-how-to-manage-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/548004\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Common Signs of \u2018High Cortisol\u2019 and How to Manage Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

From cortisol cocktails to cortisol face<\/a>, the \u201cstress hormone\u201d has a bit of a branding problem, says Dr. Akshay Syal, internal medicine physician and NBC News medical reporter.<\/p>\n

The hormone cortisol is crucial in day-to-day life, sending the body signals to wake up in the morning, regulate metabolism and handle stress. But lately, wellness influencers may have you convinced you should get rid of everything in your life that \u201ctriggers\u201d a rise in cortisol.<\/p>\n

Claims that \u201chigh cortisol\u201d is causing your bloating, poor sleep and fatigue abound online, but the reality is high cortisol is actually a diagnosable medical condition, known as Cushing\u2019s syndrome, and it\u2019s rare, Syal explains.<\/p>\n

So, rather than chasing unverified hacks to lower your cortisol, it\u2019s more effective to talk to a health care provider about your symptoms and try to manage your stress, Syal says.<\/p>\n

Mental Health Tip of the Day: Find a Stress-Reducing Hobby (and Ditch the Cortisol Hacks)<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little evidence to support many of the claims online about cortisol, Syal says. Instead, he encourages patients to think about what symptoms have them worried about their cortisol levels.<\/p>\n

A common one is chronic stress \u2014\u00a0in which case the most helpful thing is to find healthy ways to manage it, Syal tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re having a lot of stress, step one is don\u2019t freak out,\u201d he says. \u201cStress is a natural part of life. Everybody experiences stress at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if you find that it\u2019s overwhelming, two of his go-to strategies are journaling and participating in a stress-reducing hobby. For Syal, it\u2019s playing a musical instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind something that (you) love doing, that you can sort of forget about everything while you\u2019re doing it,\u201d he adds. \u201cHaving a way to unwind is just so important. It\u2019s also good for your brain to learn new skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why It Matters<\/p>\n

Essentially every organ in the body relies on cortisol at some point, Syal says. \u201cWe need cortisol to live,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

However, prolonged high cortisol is usually due to Cushing\u2019s syndrome, which can cause symptoms like weight gain, a round face and skin changes, according to Cleveland Clinic<\/a>. Without treatment, it can lead to other serious chronic illnesses, like diabetes and high blood pressure.<\/p>\n

Cushing\u2019s only affects 10-15 people out of 1 million every year, per the Endocrine Society<\/a>. So while it\u2019s worth consulting a doctor if you have symptoms of Cushing\u2019s syndrome, the vague signs of \u201chigh cortisol\u201d talked about on social media can usually be attributed to something more minor, Syal says.<\/p>\n

How to Get Started<\/p>\n

Some stress-reducing hobbies that experts previously recommended to TODAY.com<\/a> include: water-coloring, puzzles, embroidery, birdwatching, baking, dancing, knitting and reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are some other tips from Syal for common reasons people think they have \u201chigh cortisol\u201d:<\/p>\n

Facial bloating: Look at your diet, especially how much sodium you\u2019re getting, and how often you\u2019re exercising.Poor sleep: Look at your sleep hygiene \u2014\u00a0for example, try to go to bed at the same time every day and drink less caffeine.Stress management: Try journaling<\/a>, hobbies and breathing exercises<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TODAY\u2019s Expert Tip of the Day<\/a> series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From cortisol cocktails to cortisol face, the \u201cstress hormone\u201d has a bit of a branding problem, says Dr.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-548004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}