Hormone health expert shares 7 ‘healthy’ habits that quietly raise your stress levels: ‘Coffee can raise cortisol by…’

Do you drink coffee first thing in the morning? Or reach for your phone right after waking up? Tanisha warns that these habits are spiking your cortisol levels.

You’re eating clean, working out regularly, and doing all the ‘right’ things - yet you still feel tired, anxious, or wired by the end of the day. If that sounds familiar, your wellness routine might be working against you.

Drinking coffee first thing in the morning can keep you stressed for the whole day.(Unsplash)

Many ‘healthy’ habits that seem beneficial on the surface can quietly push your body into overdrive, especially when stress and hormones are out of balance. From fasting and cold plunges to over-tracking sleep, certain routines can raise cortisol and drain resilience instead of building it.

Tanisha Bawa, a gut and hormone health expert and Institute for Integrative Nutrition-trained nutrition coach, has shared 7 seemingly harmless wellness routines that can backfire and quietly raise your stress levels.

Cold exposure, often thought to be soothing, can actually have the opposite effect and elevate your stress levels. According to Tanisha, “Cold plunges spike epinephrine and cortisol - great for adaptation if your baseline stress is low. But if you’re already running on adrenaline, it only adds fuel to the fire.”

Caffeine on an empty stomach

Caffeine might keep you awake in the morning, but consuming it in an empty stomach can significantly heighten your stress levels. The hormone expert explains, “Coffee alone can raise cortisol by 30 to 50 percent. Add low sleep or emotional stress, and you’ve got a hormonal storm - more anxiety, cravings, and energy crashes by noon.”

Over-tracking sleep and recovery

When you focus too much on tracking apps, your body can become stressed about meeting the targets - and the same applies to your sleep tracker. Tanisha elaborates, “When your tracker says ‘you didn’t recover’, your body listens. Over-monitoring can create anxiety that elevates cortisol even before your day begins. Sleep thrives on rhythm, not micromanagement.”

Intermittent fasting

According to Tanisha, skipping meals can send stress signals to your brain - ‘food is scarce, stay alert’ - and this message can heighten cortisol levels. She explains, “That message triggers more cortisol, less metabolic flexibility, and poor insulin sensitivity - especially when you’re already overstimulated.”

Screens first thing in the morning

Do you reach for your phone first thing after opening your eyes in the morning? This habit immediately floods your brain with dopamine and alerts your stress system. Tanisha highlights that this leads to cortisol spikes before your body has even grounded itself for the day.

High-intensity workouts every day

Exercise is a healthy form of stress, but overdoing it can disrupt your cortisol balance and strain your body. The hormone expert stresses, “Without recovery, constant HIIT or fasted training leads to being wired-but-tired, sleep disruption, and hormone imbalances from chronically elevated cortisol”

Late night meals or snacking

Eating too late at night can disrupt your circadian rhythm, raising your stress levels. Tanisha explains, “Eating too close to bedtime keeps digestion and insulin active, disrupting your circadian rhythm and cortisol’s natural overnight drop - leaving you tired and wired by morning.”

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. It is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.