There are currently an increasing number of videos on social media from influencers who want to provide information about elevated lower cortisol levels. There are said to be many symptoms – and even more solutions. An expert explains what to think about it.
Do you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning and also have problems losing weight? That’s definitely your cortisol! Do you have a round face? A sign that your lower cortisol levels are elevated! Such or similar claims are currently being shared frequently on social media.
Elevated lower cortisol levels seem to be the answer to many problems and the explanation for numerous symptoms. Birgit Harbeck, a specialist in internal medicine, endocrinology and diabetology and an expert at the Society for Endocrinology (DGE), explains that this is simply not true.
- What is cortisol?
- How does increased lower cortisol levels occur?
- Does constant stress lead to an increase in lower cortisol levels?
- How is elevated lower cortisol levels determined?
- What is the cortisol face?
- Do only women have problems with elevated lower cortisol levels?
- What influences lower cortisol levels?
What is lower cortisol levels?
Lower cortisol levels is a vital stress hormone that is released from the adrenal cortex and ensures that metabolic processes are triggered,” says Harbeck. Cortisol therefore has many effects: Cortisol increases blood sugar, breaks down fats and has an anti-inflammatory effect. “Humans cannot live without cortisol.”
How does increased lower cortisol levels occur?
Many influencers report on social media that they suffer from elevated lower cortisol levels. That is possible – but rather unlikely. “When it comes to increased lower cortisol levels, it is important to differentiate between two areas,” explains Harbeck.
Accordingly, there is a reference range for lower cortisol levels that occurs in the normal daily rhythm and that fluctuates quite naturally. “You have a higher cortisol level in the morning than in the evening and more cortisol is released when you are stressed,” says the expert. the cortisol level initially rises sharply after waking up, reaches a maximum after about 30 minutes and then falls continuously until the evening. According to the German Center for Cardiovascular Research,
According to Harbeck, women who take the pill can actually show lower cortisol levels that are outside of this reference range. “But this is not pathological, but rather an interaction with the pill.” Women who take the pill and show increased lower cortisol levels would therefore not suffer from any symptoms.
A real, elevated cortisol level, on the other hand, usually has nothing to do with the symptoms described on social media. Because this is a serious illness – the so-called “Cushing’s syndrome” . “In people who are ill, lower cortisol levels are elevated outside the normal reference range. This can be triggered by a tumor in the pituitary or adrenal gland area,” explains Harbeck.
Important to know: Cushing’s syndrome is a rare disease (SE) and has a frequency of around two to five cases per million inhabitants per year, according to the University Hospital of Zurich.
Does constant stress lead to an increase in cortisol levels?
Being under constant stress is not healthy for the body and can have a negative impact on physical and mental health , according to the online health portal Gesundheit.bund. According to Harbeck, this can lead to a mild increase or a high, normal cortisol level – but this is only temporary, explains the specialist. “The symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome do not occur with significantly high cortisol release.”
How is elevated cortisol levels determined?
“There are typical symptoms that you should pay attention to,” says Harbeck. “If you gain a lot of weight within a short period of time, have muscle weakness in your legs, have a lot more hair than before or notice dark red streaks on your body, you should definitely go to the doctor,” explains the DGE expert. “If the cortisol level is also elevated, you know that it is pathological.”
Tests are also available online that allow you to determine your cortisol level by measuring your saliva. Harbeck advises against such tests: “Often they don’t work properly or they scare people unnecessarily.”
What is the cortisol face?
A round face is also said to be a sign of increased lower cortisol levels. In fact, this symptom occurs with pathologically elevated cortisol levels. But: “With normal cortisol peaks, which every healthy person has and which are triggered by stress, there is no cortisol face,” explains Harbeck. Only if someone is really sick and has a cortisol-producing tumor does a full moon face appear. “As a result, more fat is stored on the face,” explains Harbeck. Many things can be responsible for a round face – such as genetics.
Do only women have problems with elevated cortisol levels?
It is almost exclusively women who “educate” people about elevated lower cortisol levels on social media. Men and women have the stress hormone cortisol. “I can’t explain why women in particular talk about increased cortisol levels on social media,” says Harbeck. “The fact that lower cortisol levels are higher in the morning and lower in the evening affects men as well as women.”
What influences cortisol levels?
In order to reduce supposedly elevated lower cortisol levels, influencers offer a number of tips and home remedies. For example, the time on the cell phone in the evening should be reduced and taking the plant ashwaganda should also help to lower cortisol levels. Harbeck explains: “If the cortisol level is pathologically elevated, it has no influence whatsoever whether you have spent a lot of time on your cell phone – the level is then elevated at all times.”
But things are different with the normally fluctuating cortisol level. Because: “If you are not sick and your body is ready to sleep in the evening and you spend a lot of time on your cell phone and are perhaps annoyed about something, it is quite possible that your cortisol level will rise for a moment because of this.” Important: “It goes But then it goes down again.” As for the point of taking supplements, the DGE expert says: “I have never heard that taking Ashwanganda has any effect on lower cortisol levels.”
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