News — behavioral signs of cortisol

Stress and Poor Sleep Go Hand in Hand Do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? You might be dealing with more than just a busy mind. When you're stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. While cortisol is helpful in the short term, too much of it, especially at night, can mess with your sleep. High cortisol levels can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, leaving you feeling tired and irritable. This can start a cycle—stress causes poor sleep, and poor sleep causes more stress. But there’s good news: you can break this cycle!...

Feeling like menopause and perimenopause have turned life into an emotional roller coaster? You’re not imagining things! These phases of life bring a range of symptoms that often overlap with those caused by high cortisol levels (that’s your stress hormone in action).  So if you're experiencing fatigue, mood swings, sleep issues, weight gain, anxiety — it can feel like a never-ending cycle where stress from one makes the other worse. When estrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate or decline, your body’s ability to regulate cortisol takes a hit, making even minor stress feel overwhelming. The result is a loop of...