In this episode of The Wellness Circle, host Camille welcomes back Dr. Lena Faure, a wellness nutritionist who specializes in gentle approaches to everyday living, to talk about a hormone most of us have heard of but rarely understand: cortisol. The conversation opens with a simple image, a tiny internal alarm that goes off every time you’re running late, overwhelmed, or under pressure. That alarm is cortisol, and the episode is really about learning to hear it differently.
Episode in 60 Seconds
- Camille talks with Dr. Lena Faure about cortisol and the stress most people carry through an ordinary day.
- Cortisol is described as an internal survival alarm, useful for real danger, but triggered just as strongly by an aggressive email, traffic, or a never-ending to-do list.
- Living with constant stress shows up in the body first: tiredness that won’t lift, tension in the shoulders and jaw, broken sleep, cravings for sugar or salty food, and a hard time switching off.
- Being constantly busy has become almost a status symbol, which makes it harder to tell a real emergency apart from ordinary noise.
- Three low-cost micro-habits help the body find its rhythm again: mindful breathing, gentle movement, and transition buffers between parts of the day.
- CBD comes up as one possible tool for relaxation among many, described as a wind-down aid, not a medication and not something used to diagnose or manage any medical condition.
- Gesture of the day: five screen-free minutes before bed, one hand on the belly, breathing slowly.
What Cortisol Actually Is
Lena explains cortisol with an image that sticks: imagine coming face to face with a bear in the woods. The body floods with cortisol instantly, delivering the energy and alertness needed to run or fight back. That’s exactly what the hormone is designed for. The problem, she says, is that the brain reacts the same way to an aggressive email, bumper-to-bumper traffic, or a never-ending to-do list. There’s no bear anymore, but the alarm still goes off. When it goes off too often, for too long, the body starts to wear out.
How Constant Stress Shows Up in the Body
Asked what it actually feels like to live with that level of stress day in and day out, Lena says the body notices before the mind catches on. A tiredness that won’t lift, even after a full night’s sleep. Tension in the shoulders and jaw. Light, broken sleep, waking up too early with thoughts already racing. Some people get strong cravings for sugar or salty food, because the alarm sends low-energy signals to the brain. And there’s the inability to switch off, even on weekends, even on vacation, something Lena calls being stuck in always-on mode.
Camille points out that this always-on mode has become almost normal, even something people take pride in, being constantly slammed. Lena agrees, describing a genuine culture of busyness where being overwhelmed has turned into a kind of status symbol. It’s a trap, she says, because people stop knowing the difference between a real emergency and constant background noise. The good news, according to Lena, is that the body still knows the difference, and it can find its natural rhythm again with a few simple, doable habits.
Three Micro-Habits to Step Out of Alarm Mode
Camille asks directly what these micro-habits look like in practice. Lena offers three, each simple enough to fit into an ordinary day.
Mindful Breathing
The first habit costs nothing: mindful breathing. Not a forty-five-minute session, just three slow, deep breaths before replying to a stressful message, before a meeting, or at a red light. That small pause, Lena explains, tells the body there’s no real danger.
Gentle Movement
The second habit is gentle movement. A twenty-minute walk, ideally outside, brings tension down in a way that’s genuinely noticeable.
Transition Buffers Between Parts of the Day
The third habit is creating what Lena calls transition buffers between different parts of the day. Between work and dinner, instead of scrolling a phone, she suggests taking five minutes to do something genuinely enjoyable, music, a warm cup of tea, or simply looking out the window. Camille calls these ‘doorways between the moments of your day,’ an idea Lena fully embraces. She’s clear that this isn’t a luxury, it’s basic self-care, closer to brushing your teeth than to an indulgence. Over a week or a month, these small breaks add up and gradually change how pressure is experienced. Not a magic fix, just small moments of coming back to yourself that stack up over time.
Where CBD Fits Into a Relaxation Routine
Camille brings up CBD directly, asking for Lena’s take on plant-based approaches to stress and relaxation. Lena welcomes the nuance. CBD, she explains, is a compound derived from hemp. It’s legal, and more people are interested in it as a potential help for relaxation and everyday comfort. She’s careful to state plainly that it’s not a medication, and it isn’t something used to diagnose or manage any medical condition.
What many people who use it report, according to Lena, is that it works as a wind-down aid, something that helps them let go, especially in the evenings. Some pair it with a ritual: a cup of herbal tea, a quiet moment, a bit of reading. That’s where CBD finds its place, inside a broader wellness approach, as one tool among many alongside breathing, movement, and food that nourishes the body.
Camille ties this back to the earlier discussion of micro-habits, noting there’s no single formula, just a set of small gestures working together as a system. Lena agrees completely. CBD, she says, can fit into an evening ritual right alongside soft lighting, gentle music, or a gratitude journal. It’s the combination that creates the conditions for real rest. The nervous system responds to repeated signals, and when it consistently receives the same cues of calm, it learns to respond to them more easily.
The Gesture of the Day: Five Minutes Without a Screen
To close the episode, Lena offers one gesture to try that night: five minutes without a screen before bed. Turn off the light, place one hand on the belly, and breathe slowly, just feeling the hand rise and fall. No need to empty the mind or meditate perfectly. Just the breath, in the quiet of the dark, with no notifications. It’s one of the simplest and most powerful signals the body can receive that the day is done.
Key Takeaways
- Cortisol isn’t the enemy, it’s an alarm that can be taught to quiet down.
- Chronic stress shows up physically first: fatigue, tension in the shoulders and jaw, broken sleep, cravings, and an always-on feeling.
- Three free micro-habits, mindful breathing, gentle movement, and transition buffers, help the body find its rhythm again.
- CBD, when discussed, is framed as one wellness tool among many, not a medication and not a stand-alone fix.
- The nervous system responds to repeated signals, so consistent small habits gradually reshape how the body handles pressure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cortisol, in simple terms?
In the episode, Dr. Lena Faure describes cortisol as the body’s internal survival alarm. It was designed for real danger, like coming face to face with a bear, but the brain reacts to everyday stressors such as a stressful email or heavy traffic the same way, triggering the same alarm even without any actual threat.
What are the signs of chronic stress mentioned in the episode?
Lena points to fatigue that doesn’t lift even after a full night’s sleep, tension in the shoulders and jaw, light or broken sleep, cravings for sugar or salty food, and a general inability to switch off, even on weekends or vacation.
What simple habits help lower everyday stress?
The episode highlights three: mindful breathing, just a few slow breaths before a stressful moment, gentle movement like a twenty-minute walk, and transition buffers, short breaks between different parts of the day instead of reaching for a phone.
Is CBD a way to manage stress?
No. Dr. Lena Faure is clear on the podcast that CBD is not a medication and is not something used to diagnose or manage any medical condition. She describes it as one possible wind-down tool among many, best used alongside habits like breathing, movement, and a calming evening ritual.
The full conversation between Camille and Dr. Lena Faure goes even deeper into how these habits work together, and how to start small tonight. It’s available now on The Wellness Circle podcast.
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