As a psychologist, Carly Dober’s clients often come in talking about their cortisol levels as the reason things are hard for them.
When Dober asks them where they came across that information, the answer is often the online wellness space, where the idea of a “cortisol detox” is promoted as an antidote to stress and exhaustion.
Excess amounts of the hormone is also being blamed for everything from increased belly fat to disrupted sleep and the advice to “detox” often involves influencers recommending programs spanning meditation, spending time in the sunshine, changes to diet, ice baths and specific supplements such as ginseng.
Dober says these online influencers advocating a cortisol detox are “hijacking attention” using a medicalised name to give themselves an air of legitimacy that can translate to followers, engagement, money and customers.
“It sounds like an easy fix to whatever issues might be happening in your life to target one particular chemical [but] the framing of this as a dangerous chemical is really problematic because it’s necessary,” Dober says.
What is cortisol and can you have too much of it?
Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone, produced by the adrenal glands, and your body usually produces the right amount of cortisol to keep you healthy. Prof Creswell Eastman, an endocrinologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Sydney, says cortisol is an “essential hormone for life” which regulates blood pressure and the metabolism.
Cortisol levels do increase with everyday stresses – and cause blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar levels to rise with them – but that process is actually protective to help you solve problems and overcome that source of stress, Eastman says.
“It’s our physiological response to the flight and fight mechanism, ensuring that we can survive some threat to our wellbeing. That’s why we make cortisol.”
If someone’s adrenal glands were to be taken out and they were no longer able to produce the cortisol hormone, when they were confronted with a stress they would not be able to respond to it, he says.
The only people who have too much cortisol have the rare Cushing’s disease – when the body makes too much cortisol – or Cushing’s syndrome, which occurs when a person takes too many medicines that are similar to cortisol, Eastman says. “There’s no way you can detox from that.”
“There’s no such thing as detoxing from cortisol excess.”
Isn’t stress bad?
Dober says “we need a healthy ‘Goldilocks’ amount of stress to thrive and grow and to learn. As humans, we don’t want to have no stress in our lives. It’s not realistic.”
Chronic stress, which lasts longer than three months, does impact health, wellbeing and immune system, she says.
Stress management should be part of people’s everyday self-care, but Dober says the focus on the cortisol levels themselves is unhelpful and there are no ways to quantify them for the average person.
She warns some “cortisol detox” tips being given could be harmful, especially when it is assumed the tips will work for everyone. As just one example: cold plunges or cold water immersion therapy can be dangerous for those with pre-existing heart conditions.
What do experts recommend instead?
Prof Karena Burke, the head of the school of psychology at the University of Wollongong, says “just focusing on cortisol reduction can be problematic, and not having enough is just as problematic as having too much”.
“There are aspects of the ‘detox’ process that is really great advice, but honestly the focus people should have is on changes to their lifestyle overall and sustaining those changes over time,” Burke says.
“It is possible to ‘feel better’ after two to three weeks on these sorts of programs, but that’s because they also focus on dietary changes, stress management techniques and factors like reducing alcohol, spending time outside in nature and on increasing social connection.”
If someone is feeling that they are constantly stressed, they can try techniques such as relaxation, deep breathing and journalling, or increasing their physical activity – walking outside or along the beach is just as good as going to the gym – and working on their sleep hygiene, Burke recommends.
It is important to consult a doctor, counsellor, psychologist or another healthcare professional, especially if someone is feeling really stressed or if they are planning major lifestyle changes (including dietary changes). A professional can assist to monitor the impacts and adaptations taking place.
Burke says: “We’ve all heard it before, but there are few (if any) quick fixes, and there needs to be an individualised approach taken – that may mean experimenting with different things to see what works best.”
Dober says if people have genuine concerns around their cortisol levels, they should see their GP or an endocrinologist, but if we are thinking about general life stress, “trying to learn how to best manage stress at different points of your life can be very, very helpful”.
Natasha May is Guardian Australia’s health reporter
Antiviral is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims
