Cortisol (8 am) Test

The Blood Cortisol Test measures the total amount of cortisol hormone in the blood. The most common way of measuring Cortisol levels is a blood test (two other ways are urine and saliva tests). While these levels vary throughout the day, the Cortisol (8 am) test is conducted in the morning, when the cortisol is present in the body at higher levels. It is lowest at night. Produced by adrenal glands, Cortisol is a steroid hormone. Since most bodily cells have cortisol receptors, this hormone is responsible for (including, but not limited to) controlling blood sugar levels, regulating glucose metabolism, reducing inflammation, releasing insulin, assisting with memory formulation and controlling blood pressure. Cortisol is also known as “stress hormone”, as it’s secreted by the adrenal glands when confronted by some external threat, stress or fear. In a fight-or-flight situation, Cortisol acts like a natural alarm system that communicates with the brain to curb nonessential functions. However, as mentioned above, this steroid hormone does much more than a stress hormone. Cortisol levels vary from person to person and thus, a patient can have low or high cortisol levels even without these uncommon syndromes. Consult your doctor for an actual diagnosis of Cortisol level for better understanding. Stress has been a big challenge for the Indian population to deal with in the past few years. About 82% of the Indian population have been recorded as stressed.