Last week, we looked at how sunlight helps set the body’s natural rhythm. This week, we’re staying with that theme of balance, but from another angle: stress. September often feels like a turning point. Holidays are over, routines restart, and the pace of life picks up overnight. For many, this shift doesn’t just show up in the diary, it shows up in the body, too. One of the biggest players is cortisol, our main stress hormone.
What Cortisol is Meant to Do
Cortisol isn’t the villain it’s often made out to be. In short bursts, it’s protective, keeping blood sugar stable and energy available for when you really need it. But when the body thinks you’re under constant pressure, cortisol stays switched on, and that’s when problems begin.
Signs that cortisol is out of balance:
- Sleep goes off: wired at night, groggy in the morning.
- Cravings creep in: blood sugar swings mean snacking and crashes.
- Immunity drops: every cold seems to find you.
- Ageing speeds up: muscle loss, fatigue, and inflammation get harder to ignore.
Sound familiar? It’s not just you. September’s deadlines, shorter days, and return to structure often pile on the stress cues that keep cortisol high.
Fast Cortisol Resets
Small daily rituals can help your body feel safe again and bring cortisol back into balance:
- Step into morning light to anchor your rhythm, so cortisol rises in the day (not at night).
- Breathe it out with simple long exhales or 4-7-8 breathing before bed.
- Cut screen time after sunset to let melatonin, your sleep hormone, take over.
- Play and joy aren’t luxuries. Singing, gardening, and laughing with friends are biological signals that you’re not in danger.
- Balance your meals by pairing carbs with protein and healthy fats to keep blood sugar steady.
Nutrients That Help
Nutrients can also support your stress response. Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system and helps muscles relax. B vitamins, especially B5 and B6, are essential for energy production and for making neurotransmitters that regulate mood. Together, they help build resilience when life feels heavy.
Stress will always be part of life, but how your body responds is within your control. This September, focus on small daily rituals that remind your body it’s safe. Over time, those little choices add up.
Nutrients That Help
And on the subject of stress, here’s something unusual: lab-grown butter made from carbon dioxide and hydrogen (backed by Bill Gates) is now being touted as a “planet-saving” food. Personally, I find it hard to believe that ultra-processed butter made in a lab will ever compare to the nourishment of real foods grown from the earth. What do you think?
