After re-reading yesterday’s blog Let’s Tackle the Weight Loss Villain,  I excitedly reached out to Byron Health and Healing to schedule an appointment.   I couldn’t wait to talk to Dr. Byron about lowering my cortisol levels.  As it turns out,  Dr. B was on vacation.  Great for him and not so good for me or my cortisol levels.

Patience is not one of my virtues, so I put my enthusiasm into researching a cortisol reduction plan of my own.  I came across a great article you may enjoy by Dr. Axe, 6 Steps to Get Your Cortisol Levels Under Control and Turn Down Stress.

In the article Dr. Axe lists the following six steps to manage cortisol levels:

1. Switch to whole foods and an anti-inflammatory diet -Since I have recently done several rounds of the Whole30 and eat Whole30ish when I’m not on round, I should be solid.
2. Reduce and manage stress – Why does everyone want us to manage our stress?  This one is probably the hardest for me but I’m going to give myself credit because I’ve been doing a great job of meditating on a regular basis.
3. Exercise regularly – Check.
4. Use adaptogen herbs and superfoods –  I have been taking Cortisol Manager and it seems to be helping, but I can’t help but wonder if I should be taking more?  I guess this is a question for Dr. B. 
5. Try essential oils to promote relaxation – I honestly think I was the last person to get on the essential oil bandwagon but I have been diffusing lavender essential oil at night and it seems to help quite a bit with relaxation.
6. Get enough sleep – Done.  I love to sleep.

Since I was able to check off the items on Dr. Axe’s steps to get your cortisol levels under control, but feel like I still need a little more help brining down my cortisol level, I did more research and came up with more steps.

The cortisol reduction plan:

• Get good sleep and try to turn in and wake up at the same time every day
• Be happy!
• Exercise, but not too much or too hard
• Spend time on nurturing spirituality
• Cut caffeine
• Lower sugar intake
• Take naps
• Reduce inflammation in the body
• Control blood pressure
• Learn to recognize stressful thinking
• Learn to relax
• Practice deep breathing and take lots of deep breaths
• Eat prebiotic foods
• Stay hydrated
• Eat more spinach, citrus fruits, beans and barley, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc, and dark chocolate
• Meditate or listen to relaxation tapes
• Drink tea: holy basil, green, black, or rooibos tea

You can find the list on Pinterest.

I guess I’ve come farther in this sixteen-year weight loss and wellness journey than I realized because I’m already doing the majority of the items this the cortisol reduction list too!  Of course, there are still a few things I need to work on.

Just breathe….

I decided to focus on breathing.  I know I need to pay attention to it because I forget to breathe all the time.  My Apple watch reminds me to breathe at least once or twice an hour!  I remember this tall, calm, centered, svelt friend of mine who had a tattoo on her wrist that read “breathe”.  At the time I thought it was kind of silly but now I’m thinking her tattoo is profound and maybe I need to find out where she had the work done.

It’s tea time somewhere….

Recent research published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research showed that rooibos can significantly reduce the levels of cortisol, so I’ve decided to start drinking tea.  This is huge because I don’t drink anything besides water, bone broth, and… vodka.  I just have this gut feeling that the rooibos tea is going to help my adrenals and cortisol levels.  Wish me luck!

Naptime is a great time for cortisol levels…

And as for taking naps, if that’s what the research says I have to do to lower my cortisol levels, I guess I should at least give it a try!

I hope you do something to reduce your cortisol today!

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…Including you.” –Anne Lamott