Here’s What High Cortisol Actually Does to Your Body

Julia Sullivan
·7 min read

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If you’ve scrolled through TikTok lately, you may have come across a few videos that claim cortisol, a.k.a the “stress hormone,” is behind every annoying issue you can think of: fatigue, bloating, hair loss, blurry vision, bruising, eye twitching, dizziness, bad sleep, and probably even getting ghosted by your crush.

While there may be a grain of truth in some of these (well, except for the ghosting), the bigger picture is a bit more nuanced, Allison K. Rodgers, MD, an endocrinologist and ob-gyn at the Fertility Centers of Illinois, tells SELF. “Cortisol is a really important hormone,” she says. “It’s responsible for regulating a lot of things in your body, including your metabolism and energy stores.”

But what happens when levels of that hormone get thrown out of whack? Here’s how cortisol works and how to tell if it’s actually impacting your health.

What is cortisol—and how does it affect my body?

Though cortisol can affect nearly every part of your body, its primary function is really pretty simple: to get you out of bed and ready for the day. “Cortisol is produced from your adrenal glands, which are positioned on top of your kidneys,” Nebojsa Nick Knezevic, MD, PhD, a clinical professor of anesthesiology and surgery at the University of Illinois at Chicago, tells SELF. The hypothalamus in your brain, which regulates your circadian rhythm, a.k.a. your internal clock, controls its release. So as you wake up, your adrenal glands pump out cortisol, which boosts your heart rate and gets you moving, Dr. Knezevic explains.

Your cortisol levels peak anywhere between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. (though that really varies from person to person and depends on what your typical sleep-wake schedule looks like) and then taper off throughout the day. Eventually, cortisol reaches its lowest point at night—just in time for you to wind down for bed. The next morning, the cycle starts all over again, per Dr. Knezevic. Basically, cortisol has an essential role and your body has a finely tuned system to make sure you produce enough of it.

Of course, that natural pattern only applies to your bland, uneventful days, says Dr. Rodgers. “Cortisol is our body’s fight-or-flight hormone,” she explains. “In evolutionary history, when our ancestors turned the corner and saw a lion, they’d have two choices: run away or fight it.” Both of those scenarios cause your heart rate, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels to soar, which helps you better use your brain and muscles to survive. A sudden burst of cortisol makes that happen and also tamps down nonessential bodily functions, like digestion, while you get the job (whatever it is) done.

Problem is, your brain isn’t the best judge of what’s an actual threat, Dr. Rodgers explains: “Say you’re walking down the street and you run into your ex-boyfriend unexpectedly…you’re probably going to have a rise in cortisol.” However, she notes, once that person gets a few blocks away (and assuming they don’t hit you up with a “Hey stranger ;)” text later that day), that spike should come back down.

There are other, less nefarious things that can cause your cortisol levels to rise, Joshua Klein, MD, FACOG, a reproductive endocrinologist and co-founder of Extend Fertility in New York City, tells SELF. “How recently someone has exercised or eaten can change cortisol levels,” he explains. “Even pregnancy can alter cortisol levels.” Certain medications can cause a spike too. Still, Dr. Rodgers notes, getting a cortisol test isn’t particularly common (unless a doc is scanning for certain hormonal conditions)—so you might not even know if or when you have a higher-than-average level.

But what if my cortisol levels are too high?

This hormone will ebb and flow naturally, per the experts SELF spoke with—and that’s usually a perfectly normal thing. However, cortisol can sometimes stay too high for too long. This happens in the case of Cushing’s syndrome, a rare condition in which your body produces a lot of cortisol for extended periods, Dr. Rodgers notes. If you have it, you might experience unexplained weight gain; a roundish face; purple or pink stretch marks; thin, easily bruised skin; acne; and sometimes a fatty lump between your shoulders.

However, as Dr. Rodgers reiterates, it’s pretty likely that most people on social media blaming cortisol for everything under the sun aren’t talking about Cushing’s, since it’s a hormonal disorder that’s typically caused by a benign tumor. Dr. Rodgers says she’d only test for this if she had a solid suspicion the disorder was present—for example, if a person shows most, or all, of those symptoms above. (You can also have higher-than-normal cortisol levels if you take a lot of corticosteroids, like prednisone, which are generally used to treat serious conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.)

For everyone else, there aren’t really symptoms of high cortisol per se, although you absolutely can develop problems associated with stress (which just means that cortisol is doing its job, per Dr. Klein). Someone who’s constantly stressed out might have issues falling and staying asleep, diarrhea or constipation, hair loss, or an increased appetite: “These are usually kind of first signs and symptoms that a person is under chronic stress,” he notes. And when you are under a lot of stress for extended periods, you might have a higher risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and anxiety disorders.

So instead of pondering how high is too high for cortisol, it makes more sense to focus on ways to feel calmer in general. Of course, reducing stress in your life is often a lot easier said than done, but there are a few small things you can do to feel a little better in the moment:

  • Breathing and mindfulness exercises. They obviously won’t get rid of your stressors, but you can kind of “trick” your body into assuming it’s in a less-fraught state. Here are deep breathing exercises and grounding techniques to try when you really need a minute.

  • Prep for stress. As SELF previously reported, you can try to rehearse and better prepare your brain for tense moments—say, pre-written retorts for a nosy relative on holidays or strategies to handle tough questions for an upcoming work meeting.

  • Take a quick walk outside or get creative. Research has found that as little as 10 minutes in nature can cut back on stress. (Can’t get out? Try these gentle stretches before bed to release some tension.) SELF also recently reported that engaging with art and diving into a hobby can help combat anxiety and depression.

  • Call a professional. Again, so many of the things that are associated with stress (and cortisol levels that spike and plunge) are out of your hands. A therapist or counselor can walk you through coping strategies that are unique to your situation and needs. Here are some tips on finding a therapist you can afford.

Some people on the internet might depict cortisol as something that’s entirely within a person’s control, and readily fixable with pills, foods, and exercise—but that’s hardly the case. “It really comes down to the management of your mental health, as opposed to taking supplements that’ll supposedly help lower your cortisol,” Dr. Rodgers explains. Hell, even putting down your phone (or setting time limits) on the app might be useful.

Whatever pain or frustrating symptom you might be dealing with is 100% real, but it’s important to take any suggestion, no matter how many followers a person has, with a grain of salt. “Cortisol is not the bad guy,” Dr. Rodgers stresses. “I think it gets a bad rap because too much of it can certainly be bad, but it’s something we really all need.”

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Originally Appeared on SELF