Key Benefits

• See how chronic stress impacts adrenal hormones and low-grade inflammation in your body.
• Spot adrenal strain by identifying unusually high or low cortisol levels.
• Clarify fatigue, sleep issues, weight gain, or anxiety when cortisol is out of range.
• Explain androgen-related symptoms by measuring DHEAS linked to acne, hair loss, irregular cycles.
• Protect fertility by flagging stress-related hormone or inflammation patterns affecting ovulation or sperm.
• Track low-grade inflammation with hs-CRP to gauge stress burden and heart and metabolic risk.
• Guide and track progress with tailored sleep, nutrition, exercise, and stress therapies.
• Best interpreted alongside time of day, medications, and your symptoms for context.

What are Chronic Stress

Chronic stress biomarkers are measurable signals that show how your body’s stress-control systems are operating over time. They capture the ongoing activity of the brain–adrenal hormone loop (hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, or HPA axis) and the “fight-or-flight” nerve network (autonomic nervous system). Key examples include cortisol and its balance with DHEA-S, stress-related neurotransmitters and hormones (catecholamines such as epinephrine and norepinephrine), and immune and tissue-strain signals that rise with persistent pressure (inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 and acute-phase proteins such as CRP). Together, these markers turn lived pressure into a biological footprint called cumulative stress load (allostatic load). Testing them helps reveal whether stress responses are stuck “on,” blunted, or dysregulated, and how that pattern may be nudging metabolism, sleep, mood, immunity, and cardiovascular tone. Because chronic stress acts through networks, not a single switch, a panel of biomarkers offers a clearer picture than any one result and helps focus recovery efforts on the systems most affected.

Why are Chronic Stress biomarkers important?

Chronic stress biomarkers translate the body’s stress load into measurable signals. Cortisol maps the brain–adrenal clock, DHEA-S reflects adrenal anabolic reserve and resilience, and hs-CRP tracks immune–inflammatory tone. Together they show how stress is shaping energy, mood, blood sugar, blood pressure, immunity, and recovery across systems.

In a typical pattern, cortisol is higher in the morning and lower by evening; a common morning range is roughly mid‑single digits to the low‑20s, with a clear daytime decline. DHEA-S has broad, age- and sex-specific ranges, peaking in early adulthood and trending downward; the middle of the age‑appropriate range is generally most balanced. For hs‑CRP, values below 1 are considered low inflammatory risk, 1–3 average, and above 3 elevated. Persistently high cortisol or a flattened daily curve aligns with sleep disruption, abdominal weight gain, elevated glucose and blood pressure. Higher DHEA-S can accompany androgen excess; in women this may show as acne or cycle changes. Higher hs‑CRP signals ongoing inflammatory activity and higher cardiometabolic risk.

When values are low, a blunted morning cortisol suggests hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal down‑regulation: fatigue, brain fog, lightheadedness, low mood, and low blood pressure can follow. DHEA-S that is low for age may relate to reduced vitality, low libido, and, over time, lower bone and muscle robustness; very low levels in older adults correlate with frailty. Very low hs‑CRP is generally favorable, though context matters if other immune markers are suppressed.

Big picture: these biomarkers connect the stress axis with metabolism, cardiovascular health, immunity, cognition, fertility, and skeletal integrity. Patterns over time—not a single number—forecast long‑term risks such as hypertension, diabetes, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, depression, and cognitive change.

What Insights Will I Get?

Chronic stress reshapes the body’s control systems—energy, glucose, blood pressure, cognition, reproduction, and immunity—via the HPA axis and inflammatory pathways. Measuring its biochemical footprint helps distinguish adaptive strain from overload. At Superpower, we test Cortisol, DHEAS, and hs-CRP.

Cortisol is the HPA-axis glucocorticoid that mobilizes fuel, sets circadian arousal, and tempers inflammation. With sustained stress, levels may run high or the daily rhythm can flatten. A clear high-morning, low-evening pattern signals stable regulation; persistently high or blunted patterns suggest reduced metabolic, cardiovascular, sleep, and mood stability.

DHEAS is an adrenal androgen and neurosteroid that counterbalances cortisol and supports repair (anabolism). Chronic stress often lowers DHEAS relative to cortisol. Adequate DHEAS indicates reserve and resilience; low values point to a catabolic tilt and diminished buffering of stress responses.

hs-CRP is a high-sensitivity marker of low-grade systemic inflammation (acute-phase response). Stress-driven neuroendocrine signals can push hs-CRP upward. Low, stable hs-CRP reflects quiet immune activity and endothelial health; elevated values indicate inflammatory load that can amplify cardiometabolic risk and disrupt HPA signaling.

Notes: Interpretation depends on sampling time and method (serum vs saliva), age-related DHEAS decline, menstrual status or pregnancy, shift work, acute infection or strenuous exercise, adiposity, smoking, sleep loss, and medications (e.g., estrogens, glucocorticoids, anticonvulsants). Assays differ across labs; track patterns over time.