In Pursuit Of Great Sleep, I Tried A Cortisol Tracking App

The wellness world is obsessed with cortisol. It’s mentioned across social media, where you’ll see tips for lowering your stress levels so you can keep this pesky hormone at bay. Think low cortisol workouts that go easy on the body and deep breathing exercises that aim to soothe your system.

It’s not uncommon to assume all cortisol is bad, and the worry often gets to me, too. Whenever I’m on edge, I imagine little cortisol cartoon monsters flooding my bloodstream. I can practically feel them partying, laughing, and wreaking havoc on my health — and it only adds to my stress.

To learn more — and get this mental image out of my head — I tried the at-home cortisol test kit from Eli Health. While I’d love to be a laidback person, I am prone to overthinking, and I also have a weird sleep schedule. I wanted to see the numbers not just as a way to track the cortisol in my body, but because I assumed they would be sky-high.

According to Chloë Bean, LMFT, a somatic trauma therapist, there are many things that can mess with your cortisol. “Work stress, conflict in relationships, poor sleep, burnout, and constant digital stimulation can spike it,” she tells Bustle. “Even positive stress, like intense exercise or major life changes can raise it temporarily.” Here’s what it was like to test my cortisol levels at home, and what I learned about my stress.

Fast Facts

• Price: Free app. $109.00 for 8-test Discovery Pack, $199 for 24-test Insights Pack
• Best for: Testing your cortisol levels, improving sleep, lowering stress
• My rating: 5/5
• What like: Easy-to-use app, helpful info, instant results
• What I don't like: Not 100% fool-proof, not budget-friendly

What To Know About Eli Health

Eli Health offers a sleek wellness app and at-home testing kits that you can use to track your cortisol. The goal is to see how it might be impacting your health, sleep, and lifestyle. If you’re often wide-awake at night, for instance, high cortisol might be to blame.

While this hormone gets a bad rap, it actually follows a diurnal, or daily rhythm, that’s essential to your day. “It should be high in the morning and low in the evening,” says Marina Pavlovic Rivas, the brand’s co-founder and CEO. Cortisol should rise to you wake up, then dip at night to help you feel sleepy again.

The Eli Health app walks you through how to use the test sticks. When you click “Take a Test” or the Plus sign, it reminds you to not eat or brush your teeth 30 minutes before taking a test, to ensure a good result.

You then open one of the tests, stick the sponge side in your mouth, and let it soak up your spit for 60 seconds. The app counts down for you. Once the timer is up, you let the stick sit for another 20 minutes as it works its magic, then you take picture of a QR code on the stick, which sends the results to the app.

That’s when you’ll see your cortisol levels and whether they’re high, low, or just right for the time of day. It’s recommended to do a test in the morning and another before bed to check for that diurnal curve, as well as spot-tests throughout the week, especially if you’ve been stressed. Did you just do a heavy workout or struggle through a tense meeting? Take a test and see how it impacted you. If your cortisol is too high or not fluctuating at all, it could point to chronic stress, inflammation in the body, or other issues.

From there, the app offers tips for getting your body back in alignment. “Small, consistent lifestyle shifts can help restore a more optimal curve,” Pavlovic Rivas says, like getting more sunlight in the morning or adding 30 minutes of exercise to your day — all things that are good for your internal rhythm. Your data is displayed in the app, so you can track it over time and see if your levels get better.

Trying It Out

When I popped a stick in my mouth one morning, I thought about how much cortisol it must be collecting. I’m always a little bit stressed, so I assumed my numbers would be off the charts. Turns out, they were right where they needed to be for waking up and feeling good.

Along with the test, I logged some of my daily habits using the “Smart tags” option, which functions as a mini journal. It allows you to reflect and also see patterns that might lead to good results.

The next day, I did a “spot test” following a stressful event. As I walked down the sidewalk on a mission to complete a last-minute task, I thought about those cortisol monsters rearing their ugly heads, but to my complete surprise my levels were fine.

According to Pavlovic Rivas, it’s likely because I handled the situation better than I thought. “Not all stressors produce visible cortisol spikes,” she says. “That feeling of an adrenaline surge is something we typically associate with stress, and it captures the body's immediate stress response,” while cortisol readings capture how the stress resolved itself.

Turns out, the deep breaths I was taking — and the lengthy voice notes I sent to my friend — must have kept me calm. Cortisol also leaves the body 20 to 40 minutes after a trigger, which was such a reassuring to hear. “Ultimately, you may feel very stressed without a dramatic cortisol spike,” Pavlovic Rivas says.

For my next test, I swabbed at night right before bed — which was also interesting, since I love all things related to sleepmaxxing. Instead of feeling sleepy, I often get my biggest burst of energy around 10 p.m., which is great for my kitchen, since it always gets a thorough nightly clean, but not so great for my sleep schedule.

Sure enough, my cortisol test revealed that I was “night wired.” My numbers were way higher than they should be, and it meant my stress had finally caught up to me. According to Pavlovic Rivas, high cortisol in the evenings is also associated with high screen time, intense workouts, and late-day coffee breaks. When I thought back on my day, it made sense why I was so perky.

The app recommended a few things I could do to improve my diurnal curve, like putting my phone away an hour before bed and exercising earlier in the day. These are wellness tips I already know, but it was nice to be reminded — and to see how the tweaks impacted me in real time.

The Takeaway

As someone who worries about my stress levels, I was so glad to see they weren’t nearly as bad as I predicted. In fact, the app gave me a “Daily Score” of 92 out of 100, which meant my cortisol was mostly rising and falling as it should throughout the day.

For the “night wired” issue, the app inspired me to make small changes. Last night, instead of doom-scrolling and staring at multiple screens, I sipped tea and wrote in my journal — and I did feel so much more relaxed before trying to catch some Zs. While it’s often hard to make a change to your routine, the promise of real-time results kept me going.

Of course, this app and cortisol tests aren’t a replacement for mental health treatment, but they have been a good tool to learn about my habits and demystify the buzzy hormone. If you’re a fan of data and using tech in your wellness routine, Eli Health might also be for you.