Understanding Your Cortisol Rhythm: What Testing Can Reveal

If you’re feeling burned out, wired but tired, or wondering if stress is throwing your body out of balance — you’re probably not imagining it. Cortisol, your body’s main stress hormone, plays a huge role in how you feel day to day. But testing cortisol the right way really matters if you want results you can trust.

What Is Cortisol, Anyway?

Cortisol is made by your adrenal glands and helps regulate your sleep-wake cycle, blood sugar, and how you respond to stress. It naturally rises in the morning to help you feel alert and should gradually drop throughout the day so you can rest at night.

When your cortisol rhythm is out of sync — too high, too low, or flatlined — it can show up as exhaustion, anxiety, trouble sleeping, or feeling “wired” at all the wrong times.

Why Test Cortisol in the Morning and Evening?

Cortisol isn’t just one number — it’s a rhythm. That’s why at Lyv Health, our Decode – Cortisol Rhythm (AM/PM) add-on measures your cortisol twice on the same day: once in the morning, when levels should be at their peak, and again in the evening, when they should be at their lowest.

Testing both helps you see if your daily pattern is healthy, or if stress, burnout, or adrenal dysregulation could be behind how you feel.

Tips for Getting the Clearest Cortisol Results

1. Stick to the schedule: Try to get your morning and evening blood draws as close to the recommended times as possible — this gives you the clearest snapshot of your true rhythm.

2. Cycle stage matters: If you’re menstruating, we’ll ask you to estimate where you are in your cycle, since hormones can influence cortisol levels, too.

3. Need a different option? If you can’t come in twice in one day, let us know. We can offer a different type of test — like a single morning urine test — that still provides helpful information about your cortisol status.

   
   

Our Honest Take

Checking your cortisol can be a powerful step toward understanding your energy, stress, and burnout risk — but it only works if you understand what the numbers mean. With Lyv Health’s AM/PM Cortisol Rhythm test, you get a clearer picture of how your body is handling life’s demands — so you can make choices that truly support your health.

Ready to see what your stress pattern looks like? Learn more about our Lyv Decode – Cortisol Rhythm (AM/PM) and take the next step toward feeling more balanced, inside and out.