What does high cortisol feel like?

High cortisol doesn’t always feel like boundless “power through” energy. It can be surprisingly draining. While cortisol is your “get up and go” hormone, chronically elevated levels often feel like midday crashes, brain fog, sugar cravings, and sleep struggles, as cortisol and blood sugar swings throw your energy rhythm off balance.

Cortisol is often called your “stress hormone,” but it’s also essential for normal energy production, blood sugar regulation, and daily biorhythms. The counterintuitive truth is that high cortisol doesn’t always feel like you’re revved up, In fact, most of my patients experience the opposite.

Common Signs of High Cortisol

• Energy peaks and dips throughout the day, especially afternoon crashes
• Cravings for sugar or refined carbs (as your body tries to stabilize blood sugar)
• Difficulty staying asleep or waking too early, despite feeling tired
• Feeling “tired but wired” at night
• Brain fog or short-term memory struggles
• Weight gain around the belly or upper back over time

Chronically high cortisol can disrupt how your cells use glucose, causing blood sugar highs and lows that leave you alternating between jittery with bursts of energy and sudden fatigue or afternoon energy crashes. What many people don’t realize is that cortisol also plays a role in blood sugar balance as a glucocorticosteroid hormone itself. Over time, this stress response can also blunt your natural cortisol rhythms, making mornings sluggish and nights restless.

Functional Medicine Approach to Assessing High Cortisol

High cortisol is best confirmed through cortisol rhythm testing (like a DUTCH Test) rather than single blood draws. Treatment focuses on restoring your natural stress rhythm with blood sugar balancing, nervous system regulation, and restorative sleep practices—not just supplements.

Read my 10 Ways High Cortisol Can Negatively Impact Your Health to learn more about the many ways that high cortisol can affect your chemistry and health.

Think sustained high cortisol might be playing a role in your health roadblocks?

Answered by Dr. Kenny Mittelstadt, DACM, DC, IFMCP
Certified functional medicine practitioner specializing in advanced lab testing and personalized healing protocols to uncover root causes of health roadblocks.