Cortisol: The Stress Hormone

What is Cortisol?

Lately, cortisol has been getting a lot of bad publicity; both well deserved and undeserved.

Cortisol is a hormone released from your adrenal glands which sit on top of your kidneys.

In healthy individuals cortisol levels in the body are highest in the morning and lowest at midnight.
This natural rhythm in cortisol levels prepares us for the challenges of the day and for sleep at night.

Cortisol is also released when we feel threatened which is also known as the Fight-or-Flight-Response. The best modern day example of this, would be, you’re walking along outside on a peaceful day only to be confronted by a large menacing dog running toward you.

Cortisol prepares you to either flee the dog or stand your ground and prepare for the attack.
It does this by increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, increasing glucose production to fuel your muscles, decreasing digestion and enhancing your senses.

This response was particularly useful for the prehistoric man fleeing from or standing his ground from such st

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