This post was written by our guest author, Tonya Pasternak, ND.

The holiday season, while often celebrated as a time of love and joy, can also be a significant source of stress. Between the cold months, shorter days, chaotic schedules, and financial strain, many people find themselves overwhelmed. This can make it difficult to enjoy the season and may also lead to hormone imbalances, including elevated cortisol levels. When cortisol, the body’s key stress hormone, is elevated, it can trigger symptoms such as fatigue, restless sleep, weight gain, and sugar cravings. To counteract these effects, it's essential to adopt stress-relieving practices. Healthy eating, regular sleep patterns, and mindfulness techniques can all help maintain balance and reduce cortisol levels. Doing so can allow you to better enjoy the season without compromising your well-being.

Cortisol Basics

Cortisol is a hormone produced from our adrenal glands, which sit above our kidneys. These glands also produce small amounts of sex hormones including estrogen and progesterone. Cortisol is normal and necessary within the body, helping regulate circadian rhythm and energy throughout the day. It is also the hormone that stimulates our sympathetic nervous system, known as the “fight or flight” response, which helps us act quickly in times of need. For example, if your body was to sense danger, the rapid release of cortisol would equip the body to take speedy action by increasing heart rate, blood sugar and adrenaline production.

While cortisol serves many normal functions, dysfunction can arise when it is persistently elevated, such as when we are under ongoing stress. High cortisol can throw off our normal sleep patterns, leaving us feeling wired and restless at night yet groggy in the morning. It also increases blood sugar levels, sugar crashes and food cravings. Additionally, ongoing elevations weaken the immune system by suppressing our infection fighting cells. This is often why people end up sick after bouts of high stress (as if it wasn’t hard enough to stay healthy in the winter). The list of detrimental effects can go on and on, extending all the way from hormone imbalances to altered digestive function, weight gain and high blood pressure.

With this background, we can see that high cortisol does not serve us well. With this season having its own degree of challenges, we need our body on our side and working for us, not against us. Luckily, there are lots of obtainable tips to help combat various stressors.

Stress Reduction Tip 1: Nutrition

Staying on track with healthy eating during the holidays is no small feat. While moderation is key and enjoying life’s richness is important, being mindful of your diet during this season is essential. It's easy to adopt an all-or-nothing mindset when it comes to healthy eating. Many people accept that they’ll overindulge and plan to “get back on track” in the new year. However, this approach can disrupt internal stress regulation and make it harder to regain balance after the holidays

Here are 2 key dietary tips pertaining to food and drinks:

Stabilize blood sugar. Blood sugar spikes and drops can be stressful for the body, creating a "metabolic rollercoaster" that contributes to insulin resistance, abdominal fat, inflammation, and post-meal crashes. This happens when our macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates and proteins) are not well balanced. Usually this is due to overconsuming carbs in relation to the other macronutrients. To stabilize blood sugar, replace refined carbs with complex carbs, and increase healthy fats and proteins. Aim for 15–30 grams of protein per meal for optimal balance.

• Refined carbohydrates include pasta, bread, baked goods, French fries, potato chips, and muffins.
• Complex carbs include squashes, sweet potato, quinoa, legumes and whole grains.
• Healthy fats include olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds, fish, and avocado.
• Protein sources include fish, animal protein, eggs, dairy, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Limit alcohol. Alcohol negatively impacts blood sugar, metabolism, and hormones. While it may help some people fall asleep initially, it often disrupts sleep by causing middle-of-the-night waking. Alcohol leads to blood sugar crashes during the night, which in turn spikes cortisol levels, causing people to wake up. This is especially the case for women due to the complexity of hormones and decreased alcohol tolerance that comes with age. If you are going to have alcohol, be mindful of moderation and take steps to nourish your body in extra ways before or after drinking. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, moderation means no more than two drinks per day for men and one for women.

Stress Reduction Tip 2: Sleep

Cortisol helps regulate our circadian rhythm. It should spike to its highest level of the day within 30-60 minutes of waking. It slowly decreases as the day goes on until it reaches its lowest point in the evening. Ideally, this decline aligns with an evening surge of melatonin, leading to restful sleep. However, stress can cause cortisol surges that disrupt this balance, making it harder to fall or stay asleep.

Here are a few tips to modulate stress so you can get better rest:

1. Stick with a normal bedtime routine: While holiday schedules can disrupt normal routines, maintaining consistent sleep and wake times (within an hour of your usual) supports healthy hormone cycles. Happy lamps (full spectrum therapeutic LED lights) mimic natural sunlight and can be helpful for those who have difficulty waking up or those who are trying to offset jet lag.
2. Wind down before bed: This time of year can be over-stimulating for kids and adults alike. It's essential to allow time and space for the parasympathetic nervous system – the rest and digest phase – to be nurtured. Reading a book, taking a warm bath, avoiding screens, deep breathing, or aromatherapy can be a great way to support the parasympathetic nervous system.
3. Nighttime blood sugar crashes may wake you up. This is often linked to insufficient protein or healthy fat intake at dinner. Women and those practicing prolonged intermittent fasting may be especially prone to this issue. A protein-rich snack before bed can help.

Stress Reduction Tip 3: Mindfulness

It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of the holidays pulling you away from the present moment. Engaging in practices of mindfulness can be a great way to feel more grounded. This can be as simple as deep breathing or focusing on your 5 senses – what you see, smell, sense, feel or taste in the moment. Fully embracing the happiness of others can also boost oxytocin, the "love hormone," fostering connection and peace.

Heal Thyself

While there are lots of tips on how to combat the effects of high cortisol, it can be a great motivator to test your levels. The DUTCH CAR and DUTCH Complete tests provide detailed insights into cortisol patterns throughout the day, alongside sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. This data can help provide more personalized recommendations and strategies tailored to your exact needs.

I hope you thoroughly enjoy your holiday season this year, and that it's a safe, happy, and healthy one!

Become a DUTCH Provider to learn more about how comprehensive hormone testing can profoundly change the lives of your patients.

This post was written by our guest author, Tonya Pasternak, ND.

Dr. Pasternak’s interest in Naturopathic Medicine was sparked at an early age and has been a long standing passion of hers ever since. She received her bachelor degree in cellular and molecular biology and her doctorate in naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University. During that time, she participated in various independent research projects with a primary focus on genetics. To help expand the availability of naturopathic care, Dr. Pasternak volunteered her time by providing medical services to the homeless population living in Seattle’s tent cities.

In addition to treating conditions related to the immune, endocrine, and digestive system, personal experiences lead Dr. Pasternak to dive deeply into the field of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. She studied the work of many renowned experts in the field, including Dr. Klinghardt, Dr. Ross, and Dr. Burrascano. She realizes the importance of treating the whole body, including clearing infections, restoring balance, nurturing damaged systems, and acknowledging the emotional hardships that come with disease.

Through clinical experience, Dr. Pasternak has also discovered a passion for women’s health. She has helped numerous women regain their vitality through addressing hormonal imbalances contributing to infertility, menopausal symptoms, PMS, PCOS, and endometriosis.

When working with patients, Dr. Pasternak always seeks to find the root cause of disease and values taking time to educate her patients. She creates customized treatment plans for each person, utilizing a blend of nutrition, botanical medicine, and craniosacral therapy. She is a member of naturopathic medical associations on both the state and national levels, and continues to expand her knowledge by staying up-to-date on current medical advancements.