Cortisol refers to a fight or flight hormone in your body that alarms you when you are in danger. Since cells all over your body receive cortisol, it may affect different body parts and functions.
Regulating cortisol levels can be effective in improving metabolism, reducing inflammation, and controlling diabetes. When it comes to taking care of your health, supplements play a significant role in providing help and boosting effects.
Brands like Integrative Therapeutics have been involved in making natural supplements for decades. You can either use their Cortisol Manager supplement or use any of these 13 tricks to lower your cortisol levels.
1. Take Enough Rest: The quality and quantity of your sleep plays a great role in influencing your cortisol levels. Night owls who work at night and sleep in the day are found to have increased cortisol levels.
2. Manage Hormones: When you are not taking proper rest, your hormone levels may get disturbed, and your cortisol levels may increase. You can go to a hormone doctor for hormone replacement therapy and bring your hormonal levels back to normal.
3. Maintain Your Sleeping Pattern: Stay active when you are awake and stick to your sleeping times. Avoid drinking coffee at night, turn off screens, and don’t take naps during the day.
4. Exercise: Intense exercising can temporarily increase your cortisol levels so that you remain physically fit during the day, and lowers it during the night to give you much-needed rest.
5. Avoid Stress: When you are stressed, cortisol release increases in your body, and you feel sick. Techniques like meditation, pranayama, and relaxation can be effective in lowering stress and controlling emotions.
6. Reduce Sugar Intake: Sugar can trigger cortisol release, and if you are in the habit of consuming foods with high sugar content, your cortisol levels may stay elevated for longer and affect your health.
7. Eat Dark Chocolate: Eating dark chocolate can reduce cortisol levels and keep stress levels under control. It can also reduce your body’s cortisol response to stress.
8. Drink Green and Black Tea: Compared to coffee and other caffeinated drinks, drinking green and black tea may reduce cortisol levels and help you feel better.
9. Take Prebiotics and Probiotics: Probiotics present in kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt are beneficial. Prebiotics present insoluble fibers can deliver probiotics that help in reducing cortisol.
10. Stay Hydrated: Drinking water hydrates your body and avoids the consumption of empty calories. Finally, it also helps in reducing cortisol levels.
11. Take Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha is a herb effective in treating anxiety and reducing stress. It is also known to reduce cortisol levels.
12. Spend Time Outdoors: Spending time outdoors is a fool-proof way of reducing cortisol and calming your mind. Taking a walk in the nearby garden and breathing in the fresh air can be extremely helpful.
13. Take Supplements: If needed, take supplements that can reduce cortisol levels in your body and boost your immune system.
Don’t use all these tricks at once. Try them one by one and see which one works best for you. Slowly incorporate them and win the race steadily by keeping your cortisol levels under control.
