Cortisol is a stress hormone released by the brain when triggered by any stressful situation.
But an elevated level of cortisol in the body is harmful.
An elevated level of cortisol can cause several complications in the body over time, ranging from diabetes and high blood pressure to mood swings, depression, and loss of energy.
It also affects your metabolism and immunity, leading to obesity and infections.
Fortunately, there are a handful of natural remedies to lower cortisol level and keep it under control.
We’ll discuss some of these effective remedies below:
Get Enough Sleep at Night
Stress can often affect your sleeping patterns and keep you awake at night.
Insomnia is one of the leading causes of elevated cortisol which leads to fatigue and mood swings.
To ensure that you get sound sleep at night, you can try exercising for an hour every day, stay away from electronic devices at least an hour before bedtime, limit caffeine consumption and create a peaceful environment where you can relax for a prolonged period of time.
Eat Healthily
Eating healthy food combined with adequate rest helps to reduce cortisol.
Excess sugar intake triggers a cortisol spike leading to diabetes and obesity.
In stressful situations, we tend to eat sweets or desserts to feel comfortable, but doing so in the long-run isn’t recommended.
There are specific categories of food that can help in lowering your cortisol level.
These are dark chocolates, bananas, pears, green tea, black tea, probiotics, and water.
Take Supplements
Studies have suggested that taking supplements can lower cortisol levels. There are natural supplements like fish oil and Ashwagandha that are very beneficial to your body.
Fish oil supplements are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are said to reduce cortisol from the body.
Ashwagandha is said to lower stress and is used in Ayurvedic medicine to reduce anxiety.
Even brands like Integrative Therapeutics have been producing natural Cortisol Manager
supplements for years to help people live a healthy lifestyle.
Get a Pet
Having pets at home is not only a fun idea, but it also has a bigger purpose to serve.
Animal companionship can bring joy to people’s lives, make them feel loved, and take away all sorts of negative thoughts or anxious feelings.
Hence, bonding with pets can lead to lower cortisol levels.
Meditate
Meditation improves blood circulation by promoting deep breathing patterns.
Studies have proven that regular meditation can reduce cortisol and manage stress and anxiety.
If you want your yoga sessions to work most effectively towards reducing cortisol, pair it with some soothing music.
Relaxing music is said to aid in reducing stress and cortisol levels.
Conclusion
Besides adapting to the remedies mentioned above, you should also try to stay active and happy.
Indulge in a hobby, laugh often, and spend time outdoors to keep your cortisol levels low.
Try spending time with friends and family, call them over to your house or visit them whenever you feel low.
This will help to curb depression and sadness.
