Cortisol is actually good for you. Here's how to maintain a healthy level

Influencers are demonising a hormone that plays a star role in regulating your body

- 

Feeling tired? Bloated? Having trouble sleeping? Your cortisol levels might be too high — or, at least, that’s what social media would have you believe.

Cortisol is the latest chemical to fall under the spotlight as, in many health and wellness influencers’ eyes, it’s to blame for all manner of problems — problems that the correct combination of supplements can, of course, fix. But what exactly is cortisol? And why is it causing so much trouble?

Cortisol is commonly known as the stress hormone. When you sense a potential threat, the amygdala in your brain triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response: adrenaline and noradrenaline are released to prepare you to do battle or run away. This is what you feel when you're made to jump during a scary movie or are nervous before a big work presentation.

Most of the time, the stress doesn’t last long - the scare is momentary, the presentation is only a few minutes - and your adrenaline levels return to normal shortly after it passes. Neuroscientists and psychologists call this acute stress and, in moderate amounts, it’s actually good for us.