Why You’re Still Tired: Cortisol, Stress & the Energy You Keep Borrowing
The Energy Gap Crisis
I don’t claim to be psychic, but I can almost guarantee every single person reading this blog post has an innate desire to want to feel well rested and well energized.
Everybody wants to wake up in the morning, get out of bed feeling ready to take on the day. Carpe Diem! Not Alarme Snooziem! Everybody wants to feel focused through the day and have enough juice to last all the way until bedtime. And then when our head hits the pillow, we want to be able to quiet our mind, and go to bed without any racing thoughts or insomnia.
But how many people can actually say that they're experiencing that?
In recent times, so many people feel tired, stressed, and are sleeping poorly… And when that happens, our focus is off our energy feels drained and we just know that we are not functioning like the Lamborghini our bodies are designed to run as. It’s almost like our body’s are functioning as these crappy beater cars. Which is not their full potential.
And so it’s no surprise that we're seeing an increase in the use of stimulants—coffee, nicotine/vapes, Zynns, Adderall—because, again, people just want to focus, feel good, and get things done.
I'm not here to shame anybody for using any of those substances. I've used some of them before, and I’d like to thank espresso for helping me write this blog post.
But the problem for me was I don’t like the side effects of stimulants. I don't like feeling dependent on anything. It felt like artificial energy that came with a crash or withdrawal side effects when you stop. So I became very interested in natural energy production—using our body's machinery and endogenous energy production to feel good. And when that system is firing on all cylinders? It feels really good. Clean. Sustainable.
And this is coming from someone who spent so many years struggling with chronic fatigue and always feeling tired. Being free of that—having good energy—is such a blessing, and I'm grateful for it every day. So I wanted to share this with you, because I think every human being needs to know this about their own body and know that there is a way to feel energized.
The Biggest Mistake
One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is trying to create energy without asking: What might be robbing us of our energy? Where is all of our energy going?
What Typically Robs Us of Energy
Psychological stress: All the things you might typically think of as stressful—graduate school, divorce, job transitions.
Physiological stress on the body: Toxins, inflammation, infections, blood sugar instability.
These may need to be addressed because people are often trying to get more energy without asking where all their energy is going.
But something we need to understand is what happens in our body during stress—and what we can do to mitigate the ripple effects so our energy stays good.
To do that, we've got to talk about cortisol.
Understanding Cortisol
Cortisol is a stress hormone made by your adrenal glands, which sit on top of your kidneys.
In the short term, cortisol is your rescue squad. It mobilizes fuel, helps you feel alert, wakes you up in the morning, lowers inflammation, and can regulate blood pressure. This is normal, healthy cortisol doing its job.
The Cortisol Rhythm (Normal)
In perfect conditions, cortisol peaks in the morning and drops before bed—in perfect synergy with your circadian rhythm. This natural rhythm is what allows you to wake energized and wind down at night.
When Cortisol Goes Wrong: Cortisol Dysregulation
But over long periods of elevated cortisol and chronic stress, that natural curve gets flattened—and this is where cortisol dysregulation begins. When your nervous system is stuck in survival mode, you experience:
Morning cortisol goes low → You wake up exhausted, dragging yourself out of bed, needing coffee to function
Nighttime cortisol stays elevated → You're wired at night, unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, waking between 2 and 4 a.m. with racing thoughts
Constant low-grade overwhelm → You feel anxious without a clear reason, easily startled or jumpy, unable to truly relax even on vacation
Caffeine stops working → You're drinking more coffee but getting less benefit
Afternoon energy crashes → You crave sugar or salt to push through the afternoon slump
Weakened immune response → You catch every bug going around, or deal with recurring skin breakouts and slow wound healing
Central weight gain → Belly weight gain that resists diet and exercise
Hair and skin changes → Hair shedding or breaking, skin breakouts
The Downward Spiral: Adrenal Depletion
Having long periods of elevated cortisol and chronic stress leads to burnout at the hormonal level. But what goes up must come down. Eventually, through feedback mechanisms between your brain and your hormone system, the adrenal glands become depleted—and cortisol production becomes blunted. This is when people often say: "I'm exhausted all the time, and even caffeine doesn't work anymore."
This isn't laziness. This is a real physiological state where your body has literally run out of gas.
How to Fix It:
Energy is like money. Maybe you have money coming in—but your bills are so high that it keeps getting spent. Then you look at your account and say, "I ain't got no money." Or you come to me and say, "Doc, I don't have any energy."
It's the same thing.
I always recommend patients run a morning cortisol test, as this gives me a good indicator or starting point for what's happening in their stress response. Typically, you'll need to go to a naturopathic physician or a functional medicine doctor to get this run. And what you want to look for is a skilled physician—not just someone saying, "Is your value high? Take this. Low? Take that." The skilled physician is asking: Why is this happening?
The Levels of Cortisol Balance
Level One: Non-Negotiable Foundations
These four pillars are your baseline. You can't supplement or adapt your way out of neglecting them.
1. Sleep
You really need to figure out what adequate sleep looks like for you. For me, it's 8 hours a night. For some people it's 7, for others it's 9. Find your number and protect it like your life depends on it—because it does.
2. Movement
Exercise regularly—4 to 5 times a week, 30 to 45 minutes a day. This doesn't have to be intense. Walking, yoga, swimming, strength training—whatever you'll actually do consistently.
3. Daily Nervous System Practices
Have practices in your life—meditation, prayer, yoga, breathwork, walks in nature—that you do on a regular basis. I mean every day, or at least more days than not. These actively give you time in your day to not be in fight-or-flight mode. They help train your nervous system to be relaxed—similar to how you need to go to the gym regularly to train your muscles to be fit.
4. Stabilize Your Blood Sugar
Eat balanced meals that include protein, fat, and complex carbs. Avoid the blood sugar roller coaster that spikes cortisol. Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist about what cortisol-balancing meals look like for your body.
Level Two: Nutritional Support
Once your foundations are solid, you can address what your body might be missing.
Essential Nutrients: B Vitamins & Vitamin C
Important building blocks for your adrenal glands are B vitamins and vitamin C. These are depleted when you're under stress, so you need to replenish them. Talk with your doctor to make sure you're covering these bases either through diet or high-quality supplementation.
Targeted Adaptogens
If you work with a doctor trained in botanical medicine and supplements, and based on your morning cortisol lab results, they can recommend what's called an adaptogen—which helps your body adapt to stress and regulate your cortisol response. Based on what your cortisol picture the right herbal medicine can be recommended- this can include ashwagandha, rhodiola, holy basil, and many others..
The Real Goal
The end goal is to have good energy, good sleep, good mood, and good resilience to stress. There are so many people who are tired because they're grinding and trying to live out their mission. But your body needs to have enough natural energy to keep up with the demands of stress in a sustainable fashion.
I think you can see it in someone's eyes when they have that energy—that life force. We need more people like that. And if nobody else is talking about how to protect it, then let me talk about it.
Next Step
If you're constantly tired, your body may not need another quick fix. It may need someone to look at the full picture—your stress response, your sleep, your movement, your nutrition, everything.
That's what the free Health Roadmap Assessment is designed to do. Take it to begin identifying which systems in your body may be asking for support.
