It’s hard to avoid stress while enduring life in America. Across various races, genders, education, and economic backgrounds, elevated stress levels are, almost ironically, a major uniting factor. When life promises moments of continual stress, what can we do to practice self-care and find restorative calm?
Most people don’t realize that the body is designed to ride a wave of stress every single day, and that’s a good thing. Cortisol, your main stress hormone, follows a natural rhythm that rises and falls on a schedule. It surges in the early morning, usually peaking within the first hour after you wake up, giving you the get-up-and-go you need to start your day. From there, it gradually tapers off, dipping lower and lower as the hours pass until it reaches its lowest point late at night, clearing the way for sleep. You might feel a smaller bump around midday or in moments of pressure, then a softer landing as the evening winds down.
This daily ebb and flow is exactly how things are supposed to work. The problem isn’t having cortisol. It’s when chronic stress keeps those levels elevated around the clock, flattening the natural curve and leaving your body stuck in the “on” position when it should be winding down.
If you find that stress is keeping you awake at night, creating anxiety throughout the day, causing irritability at work, or making you emotional over small instances, you may be struggling with elevated cortisol levels that are out of sync with your natural rhythm. This can be especially true for Black people, as additional daily stressors like caring for loved ones, navigating racism, or juggling multiple responsibilities are more common in our community.
Prioritizing self-care to manage stress is not selfish: it’s essential. Use the tools below to help lower your daily cortisol levels and find your way to calm during any storm.
Science has recently confirmed what many holistic health practices have known for centuries: the breath is one of our most powerful tools. When you feel stressed or anxious, controlled breathing may help improve your mood, calm difficult emotions, and lower your heart rate and blood pressure. Try inhaling slowly, followed by a longer, slower exhale, and repeat this pattern for about five minutes. Your peace is a few inhales and exhales away.
Sometimes our mind feels like it’s in overdrive, with too many thoughts taking up space and creating stress in real time. Just as the body and breath need moments of slowness, the mind must slow down and rest as well. Meditation is another science-backed holistic practice that can change your mental health. All you need is five minutes, especially when your brain is running a mile a minute. Find a focus word, like calm, and let all other thoughts float away.
Insight Timer, a free website and app for mindfulness and meditation, has a huge library of resources to help you get started. This playlist features Black wellness guides and instructors.
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When the body is holding on to stress, the muscles get tense in response. The best thing you can do is move through it. From a variety of yoga styles to walking to simply dancing around your home, movement in all forms provides the relief the body is seeking after a stressful moment.
It burns through those stress hormones, signals to your body that the threat has passed, and floods your system with endorphins, the mood-boosting chemicals behind that lightness you feel after a good sweat. Over time, regular movement also trains your nervous system to bounce back from stress faster, so the same pressures that used to rattle you start to come and go a little easier.
Put on your favorite record and let the healing power of music de-stress your day. When you sing or hum, the voice vibrates your vagus nerve, which instantly signals safety and calm. It releases happy hormones, lowers blood pressure, and drops your heart rate. We have long known and felt the healing power of music in our community. Don’t forget to use this tool when you need it most.
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The phrase “touch grass” may seem like just a fun internet trend, but there is some science behind the motto. Just a 10 – 20-minute stroll through nature reboots your brain, calms anxiety, and effectively lowers cortisol levels. When moments of stress go on for too long, looking up in awe at a tall tree or even standing barefoot in grass can be the difference between a good day and a bad day. Our connection to nature carries healing power we have yet to understand.
It’s been labeled “doom scrolling” for a reason. If you find that you’ve spent the majority of your day glued to a screen at work, a phone during breaks, a TV after dinner, and an iPad for late-night reading, it’s likely your cortisol levels are consistently affected by nonstop screens. Everything from that little bright light shining in your face at night to the stress of another headline that might compromise your career (very real for those of us living in Washington, DC) keeps stress levels elevated. Spend intentional time every day away from technology. Maybe make it a habit to leave your phone off while enjoying your nature pill.
Some of the most powerful stress relief doesn’t come from anything you do alone. It comes from other people. When you hug someone you love, hold hands, share a laugh, or even pet your dog, your body releases oxytocin, often called the “bonding hormone.” Oxytocin works as a natural counterbalance to cortisol, lowering your stress levels, easing your heart rate, and helping your whole body settle. This is why a long hug at the end of a hard day can feel like an exhale you didn’t know you were holding. We’re wired for connection, and physical affection is one of the oldest, most reliable ways our bodies know how to feel safe.
Lowering your stress is not a luxury or something you get to only after everyone else is taken care of. It is essential, and it is yours to claim. Whether you start with deeper breaths, better sleep, gentle movement, or simply saying no a little more often, every single change you make sends a message to your body that you are safe, cared for, and worth the effort.
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