Tools to Set Your Cortisol Rhythm

Getting your cortisol rhythm correct is essential to energy and sleep and much more.

The new Huberman Lab episode covers everything you need to know about how to get your cortisol rhythm correct.

You want high levels of cortisol in the morning and late morning and low levels at night. I teach you how to do that and the biology underlying the protocols.

Caffeine surprisingly does not increase cortisol very much if you drink it regularly. If you don’t drink it regularly it will increase cortisol.

Deliberate cold exposure does not increase cortisol very much; in fact, it can decrease your cortisol levels if you do it regularly. Yep, you read right. Two times per week or more is regularly.

Exercise is best done in the early part of the day to match your circadian cortisol rhythm, but if you can’t do it early in the day (and many of us can’t) exercise in the afternoon or evening should be followed by a few simple things to lower your cortisol. I discussed those in the episode. Otherwise, your next-morning cortisol is reduced and, over time, this can lead to type 2 burnout (explained on the episode and how to overcome it).

Licorice root is a potent elevator of cortisol. This can be used early in the day but approach with caution. It can interact with medications. I’ve been using it in the morning and it’s great.

Same goes for grapefruit, although grapefruit works through a different mechanism. It increases the duration over which cortisol is active and is less potent than licorice for cortisol.

The episode also explains how nutrition impacts cortisol, low-carb diets, and more. Lots in there and it’s all time-stamped so you can navigate quickly to the topic most of interest to you.