Should you get your cortisol tested?
Why “just stress less and meditate” isn’t always enough (and when deeper testing actually helps)
February 22, 2026
I was chatting with a friend the other day who’s dealing with hormone symptoms.
Her “baby” just turned two, and she’s experiencing hair loss, wicked PMS, mood changes, and insomnia. Pretty standard stuff I treat in my practice and talk about in my programs.
She asked me what lab tests she should request from her doctor, so I gave her my (long) list. She sees a functional medicine doctor, so along with some of the basics, I suggested she ask if they offer a home cortisol test.
Cortisol testing: blood testing or saliva?
A little side note - I don’t typically recommend a blood test for cortisol.
Why? Because one isolated cortisol value isn’t that helpful. What I care about is what cortisol is doing all day long the pattern matters more than a single number.
Cortisol is also incredibly responsive to stress. Sitting in a chair with your arm tied off, waiting to be stabbed with a needle? Not exactly a neutral state.
Home tests that use saliva or urine work well because:
We collect multiple samples throughout the day
You’re living your normal life
Accuracy is much better
Is getting a cortisol test worth it?
Back to my friend. She sent the list to her doctor and waited for his reply.
He ordered most of the labs (yay!), except cortisol (boo).
The reason?
“It doesn’t matter what your cortisol levels are my treatment advice would be the same. Try to stress less and meditate.”
My response, trying very hard not to be dramatic:
Yes stress reduction, meditation, and self-care are helpful for everyone. Always. They’re part of the plan whether cortisol is high, low, or somewhere in between.
So yes. Do those things.
But there are meaningful differences in root causes and treatment approaches depending on what cortisol is actually doing. And the symptoms are not the same.
Read Next:
Is your cortisol high or low? It matters.
Common signs of high cortisol:
Sugar and alcohol cravings
High blood pressure
Rapid heart rate
Insomnia
Feeling “wired”
Anxiety
Running on adrenaline
Common signs of low cortisol:
Salt cravings
Low blood pressure
Stress intolerance
Brain fog and poor concentration
Fatigue
Getting sick more often
And yes many people experience both, especially after long periods of chronic stress. It’s common to bounce between high and low when you’ve been stuck in fight-or-flight for too long.
Why this actually changes treatment
The interventions are different.
The herbs and supplements I use for low cortisol are different than those for high. Even nutrition recommendations can shift based on what’s happening. Someone with high cortisol will tolerate caffeine, exercise, and stress much differently than someone with low cortisol.
This is why nuance matters.
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When symptoms are enough and when cortisol testing helps
You can absolutely use your symptoms as a starting point. Not everyone needs to jump straight into specialty testing.
In my programs, we use symptoms to assess your personal needs and guide nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
But when you’re ready and have the capacity to do a deeper dive, cortisol testing is one of the labs I always include.
The takeaway
Meditation is great.
It’s just not always sufficient.
Everyone’s root causes are different, and a one-size-fits-all approach is often unhelpful especially when you’re already exhausted and frustrated.
Does this resonate?
Still exhausted and not sure what your cortisol is doing?
If you’re stuck in the loop of:
Feeling wired but tired
Crashing despite “doing all the right things”
Being told to “just stress less” while your body clearly isn’t cooperating
That’s a sign your nervous system and stress hormones need more targeted support.
Energize is my short, practical program designed to help you:
Decode your specific flavor of exhaustion
Support cortisol without overhauling your life
Feel more stable, calm, and human again
This isn’t about meditating harder.
It’s about fixing what stress is actually breaking down.
👉 Learn more about Energize here.
xo
Alison
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