At-home testing kits can diagnose pregnancy by checking for a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). They are also used to monitor chronic diseases and conditions.
Stress and elevated cortisol levels affect the body in many ways, including lowering the metabolism and encouraging cravings for sugary and fat-laden foods. This can lead to obesity and health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and depression.
Test Your Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is a hormone made by our adrenal glands, small triangular glands that sit on top of our kidneys. It helps us respond to physical and emotional stress by regulating blood pressure, energy levels, metabolism, and immune responses. It also controls blood sugar and the body’s breakdown of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
Some changes in cortisol levels are normal and do not require treatment, while others may indicate a health problem. A home test can help you determine if your levels are high or low.
Several at-home cortisol tests are available online. Each company vets new testing methods against scientific studies, and both companies are CLIA-certified.
So how to test cortisol levels at home? With both tests, you’ll receive a kit with one or more containers and instructions on collecting urine for 24 hours. Follow the instructions carefully. Cortisol levels change throughout the day, so the instructions recommend collecting the sample early in the morning when the levels are highest and again around 4 p.m. when the levels are lower.
A blood test will usually involve a finger prick, and there is some risk of pain or bruising at the site where the needle entered your arm. It’s important to tell your provider about any medications you are taking, as they can influence the results.
Identify the Source of Your Stress
Stress is a part of life, but excessive amounts can lead to serious health problems. It’s important to understand the source of your stress and find ways to reduce it.
Different stressors can trigger your body’s built-in stress response, which causes various physical and emotional symptoms, such as heart palpitations, chest pain, sweating, and an elevated appetite. Often, long-term activation of the stress response — known as chronic stress — leads to weight gain, depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.
When you feel threatened by a potential danger, such as a dog barking at you while on your morning walk or the traffic jam you run into on the way to work, a tiny region in the brain called the hypothalamus sets off an alarm system. It sends nerve and hormonal signals that prompt your adrenal glands to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones increase your heart rate and blood pressure, elevate sugar levels in the bloodstream, and boost energy supplies to fuel your muscles.
Some people have a naturally strong stress response, which may be genetic or stem from their childhood experiences and life events. However, a few factors can cause your stress to become out of control, such as:
Relieve Your Stress
While stress is a normal part of life, long-term or chronic stress is dangerous to your health. This is because it leads to consistently high cortisol levels, which can negatively impact your body. Fortunately, many ways can relieve your stress and help you feel better.
When you encounter a threat, your brain’s hypothalamus sends nerve and hormonal signals to the adrenal glands atop your kidneys. This triggers the body’s “fight-or-flight” response, causing the adrenal glands to secrete hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. These hormones cause your heart rate to increase, blood flow to your muscles, and energy supplies to the brain and other tissues to be boosted.
To conserve energy, your body also shuts down autonomic functions like digestion and your immune system. This enables you to focus on the immediate threat and deal with it. As the stressful situation ends, your body returns to its natural state.
Most people react to life’s stressors somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between those who are very relaxed and those who get upset easily. Your genetics and life experiences can play a role in this. For example, people who have been abused or neglected as children have more pronounced reactions to stress than those who were raised well.
Improve Your Diet
When you visit your doctor regularly, you most likely track your blood pressure, heart rate, and weight. You may not know that cortisol, the hormone released by the adrenal glands when your body feels threatened or in danger, plays an important role in metabolism and could contribute to weight gain.
When your body experiences a threat, the hypothalamus, a tiny region in the brain at the base of the kidneys, sends signals to your adrenal glands to release a surge of hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates blood pressure, and boosts energy supplies. Cortisol, on the other hand, helps you use sugars for energy and increases protein production to help repair tissue damage.
High levels of cortisol can be dangerous, especially over time. Fortunately, eating a healthy gut-friendly diet and getting enough sleep, exercise, and stress management can reduce your cortisol levels naturally.
