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We've helped over 200,000 people take control of their health. Do you worry that your job or your day-to-day life is too stressful for good health? Do you think that chronic stress might be affecting your sleep, your food choices - even your energy levels and mood? Do you find it difficult to "switch off" at the end of the day? If so, find out whether your cortisol levels could be affecting your wellbeing with this simple saliva cortisol test you can do at home.
Cortisol - waking
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Cortisol 1200
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Cortisol - 16:00
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Cortisol - before bed
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Prepare for your Cortisol Saliva Stress Test by following these instructions. Do not eat or drink for 60 minutes before your test. Do not brush your teeth for 30 minutes before your test. Corticosteroid medication can affect this test, ask your doctor whether to stop before testing. Do not take biotin supplements for two days before this test, discuss this with your doctor if it is prescribed. Hormonal contraception can affect the results of this test. Taking a break from this and waiting for your periods to restart before your blood test will give more accurate results.
Your personalised, actionable health results are only a few clicks away. Order your test, take and post your sample, then view your results online with our doctors' comments.
MyMedichecks is your personal online dashboard where you can view your results, access clear and simple explanations about individual health markers, monitor changes in your health, and securely store information about your medical history, lifestyle, and vital statistics.
Cortisol levels naturally fluctuate throughout the day but sometimes your levels might higher or lower than normal causing symptoms such as difficulty waking in the morning or going to sleep at night and craving sugary snacks especially late in the day. Cortisol levels should be highest just after waking in the morning and lowest at bedtime. This test establishes the levels of cortisol in the saliva at 4 different points in the day. Samples are taken after waking, 12 noon, 4pm and before going to sleep.
This test can tell you if you are experiencing excessive stress during the day and whether you need to be adjusting your lifestyle to introduce more relaxation and modify other lifestyle factors such as your sleep and your diet. This test may help identify Cushing's syndrome, which is caused by too much cortisol. The Endocrinology Society Guidelines advise 2 raised salivary before-bed cortisol levels for the diagnosis of Cushing’s; therefore, if you have a raised before-bed cortisol, you may be advised to have a repeat test.
This test is not appropriate for diagnosing Addison's disease, which is caused by damage to the adrenal glands and is associated with too little cortisol. The reference ranges for most times of the day do not have a lower limit, meaning these results would not be classified as low even if Addison's disease is possible.
We recommend you consult your GP or usual doctor if you think you have symptoms of this condition (e.g., weakness, tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, weight loss, darkened skin, muscle weakness and low blood pressure (particularly on standing up causing dizziness and fainting.)
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, produced by the adrenal glands. It is vital for survival given its role in various functions such as immunity, regulating blood pressure and releasing insulin for blood sugar maintenance. Cortisol has been termed the 'stress' hormone because it is secreted in higher quantities during the body's 'fight or flight' response to stress, and is responsible for several stress-related changes in the body.
