Signs of Excess Cortisol

Struggling with anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, or digestion issues? Your cortisol levels might be too high.

Cortisol is essential when balanced, but in excess, it can harm your well-being. Here’s how:

1. Feeling wired, anxious, irritable & on edge: Cortisol is a stress hormone. It shoots up when we are in a “fight or flight” situation - keeping us on high alert & when prolonged turns stress into chronic anxiety.

2. Insomnia: Cortisol should peak in the morning & drop at night. If it stays high, it disrupts melatonin production, leading to poor sleep.

3. Weight gain & sugar cravings: excess Cortisol releases sugar into your bloodstream, disrupting blood sugar balance & causing belly fat & insulin resistance.

4. Digestive issues: prolonged high Cortisol diverts energy from digestion & also causes inflammation affecting our microbiome. This causes bloating, constipation or diarrhoea.

5. Acne, wrinkles & hair loss: increased Cortisol leads to more inflammation & oil production & decreased collagen production, causing acne, wrinkles, & hair loss.

6. Irregular/absent periods: prolonged high Cortisol impacts all hormones, leading to irregular or absent periods as the body prioritises survival over reproduction.