Here are 5 ways your body is telling you your cortisol levels are high—and what you can do to lower them:

1. Feeling tired but wired: You’re exhausted all day, but come the evening and you can’t sleep. Cortisol should be at its lowest at night to allow for proper sleep, but for some, this stays high throughout the night and they wake up feeling groggy and tired, instead of refreshed.  It’s easy to then go for coffee as a pick-me-up but this again raises cortisol.

2. Increased anxiety or irritability: you may find yourself reacting to normally manageable situations with anxiety or feeling on edge like you could snap at any moment and you don't know why. As the body is in fight-or-flight mode, it is literally on edge and waiting to fight or flee a situation –  that is not really life-threatening.

3. Weight gain, esp around the abdomen: elevated cortisol will also increase glucose and insulin, leading to insulin resistance. The marker for insulin resistance is excess fat around the belly and visceral fat (around the organs). I’ve seen in people who dont eat much at all, yet their weight increases due to elevated stress hormones impacting glucose/insulin

4. Brain fog: Cortisol affects the pre-frontal cortex, the part of our brain responsible for concentration and decision-making. This is why when we’re stressed, it’s harder to be rational, make descisions, and get through our work.

5. Digestive problems (and bloating): Cortisol has an affinity for the gut and many people feel bloated when they have high cortisol. The gut-brain link shows that gut health affects our mental health and vice versa.

The first step to begin balancing your cortisol levels is, to find your stress triggers.

Many people don’t notice their levels of stress because it’s become their new baseline, but they show the symptoms of high stress and cortisol.

What does your mind stew on or over-analyse?

What is a recurring source of worry for you?

What problems are keeping you up at night?

Wearable devices such as Fit-Bit or Garmin watch can help to detect stress via heart rate variability or changes in skin and sweat gland activity. This can help to bring awareness of stress triggers, helping to better manage them.