Cortisol (AM)
What it is
Cortisol is the primary hormone your adrenal glands release in response to stress, and it naturally follows a daily rhythm, highest shortly after waking and gradually declining through the day. A morning draw captures it near that daily peak, which is when it is most informative.
Why it matters
Cortisol is a useful single snapshot of adrenal function, but it's also one of the markers most sensitive to context: acute stress, poor sleep the night before, or even the stress of the blood draw itself can shift a single reading. That's why an unusual result is typically a prompt to look at the pattern over time or alongside symptoms, rather than a standalone diagnosis, and why it's grouped with the rest of the hormone panel in Signal rather than tested alone.
Cortisol (AM) is one of the markers in Zaro's Signal panel and every tier above it.
This information is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always talk to a physician about your specific results and health history.
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