This is an interesting new home-test becoming available shortly in the US:
Final Takeaway
I loved seeing the real time impacts of my lifestyle habits, and that inspired me to make some changes to hopefully get my evening cortisol levels more balanced. Two things that Rivas noted that could impact my evening cortisol is afternoon caffeine (check) and PM workouts (check). I usually cut off caffeine by 4pm, and don’t work out after 6pm typically, but I can see that those two habits may need some tweaking. I plan to shift my workouts to earlier in the day when I can (unless it’s a calming yoga class) and switch to matcha in the afternoon since it is lower in caffeine than my usual coffee. I’m also going to try cut off caffeine much earlier in the day. TBH, I could also also probably use more intentional time to get into a relaxed state in the evening — so I might try to make time to wind down. As I make these changes, I look forward to retesting my levels to see more immediately how my lifestyle changes are helping versus waiting for a doctor to order a test and weigh in weeks later.
If you’re looking to track your own cortisol levels at home, Eli Health Cortisol Tests ($32/month for 4 tests) are currently available for purchase in beta and will officially launch in late September. Something to note: the brand offers the tests as part of a subscription currently. If you purchase a month of tests without a longer subscription commitment, the cost is $100 for the four tests. If you commit to a 12 month subscription, you get the $32 a month price for 4 tests. The brand recommends checking cortisol levels every two weeks, checking as soon as you wake up and in the evening between 5-10 PM. You can also test at specific times if you want to understand how your cortisol levels respond to a workout or other specific event. Eli Health will also be adding progesterone tests in September, followed by testosterone at a later date in 2026.
