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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Exercise regularly – Check.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!

This was great not only for weight loss, but general self care! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for writing this! I have saved this list and I will be concious of trying to make these habits in my day-to-day. Today is always a good day to be healthy and this just inspired me a little more!
great advice for total health and wellness.
Thank you and thank you for following!