Thread by @morellifit

Your cortisol decides the quality of your life.

Everything from burning fat to building muscle to silently destroying your hormones depends on it.

Here’s how cortisol works & how to manage it (+ comment “ME” & I’ll send you my Cortisol Reset Masterclass):

Cortisol is like your internal alarm clock.

It spikes high in the morning to wake you up, then gradually decreases throughout the day so melatonin can take over at night.

This is your natural rhythm. When it's working, you feel energized in the morning and sleepy at night.

But chronic stress breaks this system.

Instead of a nice spike in the morning and gradual decline, your cortisol gets completely out of sync:
• High all day (you're wired but tired)
• Low all day (you can't get out of bed)
• Spiking at night (you can't sleep)

Here's what chronic stress does to your body:

Your body prioritizes dealing with cortisol over making sex hormones.

It literally steals resources from testosterone and estrogen production to handle the stress first.

This is called "cortisol steal" - and it's why stressed people have low hormones.

The 3 stages of cortisol dysfunction:

Stage 1: High cortisol - you feel wired, anxious, can't sleep
Stage 2: Mixed signals - tired in morning, wired at night
Stage 3: Complete burnout - cortisol flatlined, chronic fatigue

Signs your cortisol is broken:

(Make sure to save this and share with your loved ones – they need to be aware)

1. Can’t wake up in the morning
2. 3pm energy crash
3. Second wind at night when you should be tired
4. Poor sleep quality
5. Constant fatigue despite “doing everything right”

What's filling your stress bucket:
• Low calorie dieting
• Excessive exercise
• Poor sleep
• Work stress
• Relationship drama
• Chronic inflammation
• Gut dysfunction

How to fix cortisol naturally:

1. Get sunlight in your eyes every morning.

This sets your circadian rhythm and tells your body to produce cortisol in the morning, melatonin at night.

16 hours after morning light exposure, your body naturally starts producing melatonin:

2. Sleep at the same time every night.

Your body works on routine, not chaos. Pick a bedtime and stick to it within 30 minutes.

Going to bed at 10pm one night and 1am the next destroys your cortisol rhythm.

3. Practice breathwork + meditation.

Even 10 minutes daily helps reset your stress response system.

When you're stressed, your breathing becomes shallow.

Deep, slow breathing signals safety to your nervous system & lowers cortisol naturally.

4. Spend time in nature regularly.

Forest bathing, walks on the beach, hiking - nature automatically relaxes your nervous system.

Turn Sunday into a nature day with your kids...

The combination of movement, sunlight, and fresh air reduces cortisol more effectively than any pill:

Support with adaptogens:
• Ashwagandha (works at any stage)
• Holy basil
• Key nutrients: B5, vitamin C, magnesium, zinc

But don't rely on supplements to fix a lifestyle problem.

Fix the foundations first stress, sleep, gut, inflammation then add targeted nutrients.

I know it works because I’ve helped over 1,000 people optimize their health and build their dream physique...

All through:
• 124 biomarker test (reveals health data)
• 80-page lab breakdown
• Expert analysis & support

DM me "DATA" & we’ll show you how to start.
x.com/messages/compo…

Your cortisol rhythm determines your energy, sleep, and hormone production.

If this helped you understand your energy crashes, retweet and follow @morellifit for more health optimization content.

https://twitter.com/303519518/status/1989723040310333667