Dan Greenfield has a jam-packed schedule. Just glancing at his calendar explains it all.
As the chief of staff at the Post, he dashes from meeting to meeting, navigates internal disputes, and manages significant projects that likely overshadow my own salary as a health reporter.
“I’ve felt stressed for most of my adult life,” Dan, 58, confided. “I operate in a fast-paced, demanding setting and have been at it for a long while.”
With my own experiences of relentless deadlines and the financial struggles of being a young New Yorker, I found myself pondering: Who is actually under more stress, a rookie reporter at 25 or a seasoned executive?
To explore this, we investigated how the Montreal-based startup, Eli Health, is pioneering the world’s first at-home cortisol test. This test provides a quick read on the body’s stress hormone.
Understanding Stress
Cortisol, released by the adrenal glands, is crucial for our fight-or-flight responses and regulates things like immunity, blood sugar, and even sleep cycles—topping out in the morning for alertness and decreasing at night for sleep.
Marina Pavlovic Rivas, co-founder and CEO of Eli Health, referred to the company as the “CEO of hormones.” She mentions that while hormones should be democratic, cortisol reigns supreme.
When cortisol isn’t balanced, the consequences can be serious. Chronic high levels may lead to issues like weight gain, mood swings, and increased risks for conditions like diabetes.
Traditionally, testing required sending samples to laboratories—an arduous process that made timely results almost impossible.
“We often wait days—or even weeks—for results,” Pavlovic-Rivas noted. “We aimed for real-time visibility.”
Eli Health’s at-home test, resembling a pregnancy test, measures cortisol through saliva within about 20 minutes. A four-pack is priced at $32.
To map our stress patterns, Dan and I decided to test twice daily over three days, despite the recommendation of biweekly testing to observe the “cortisol curve.”
From Samples to Stress Scores
Even with a hectic agenda, Dan commented that he usually doesn’t feel particularly overwhelmed.
“That’s not what I’m overly concerned with,” he stated. “Of course, everyone has their moments, but I manage my workload pretty well.”
Yet I can’t help but feel differently—just seeing a mountain of emails raises my anxiety levels.
Interestingly, we both struggle to switch off our thoughts.
“You can’t really detach from work,” Dan admitted. “I’m working on improving in that area, but it’s tough.”
He continues working late until fatigue hits. “You can fall asleep if you work until you’re exhausted, but getting to that point is the issue.”
More than once, I’ve found myself jumping out of bed late at night to note down ideas or check articles—yet the persistent worry of upcoming tasks, especially on Sundays, keeps nagging at me.
When we looked at our cortisol results, we found interesting trends.
In the mornings, our levels were normal. But at night? Another story.
Dan’s evening cortisol readings were notably high. Pavlovic-Rivas pointed out that this is common for individuals facing chronic stress, but it’s not ideal.
“Irregular cortisol levels can derail your body’s performance,” she warned, explaining that it can affect sleep, energy, and even memory.
Dan was already familiar with this concept. “It’s not surprising my levels are higher at night,” he acknowledged. “I keep going until I can’t anymore.”
As for my own cortisol, it mostly remained normal, except for that anxious Sunday night.
If anxiety festers unchecked, it can spike your heart rate and make sleep elusive. This in turn might elevate cortisol levels, pushing your body into stress mode.
Pavlovic-Rivas advised combatting Sunday stress through calming activities, like meditation or yoga, to reduce the risk of cortisol spikes.
Testing Made Simple
The hormone meter is relatively straightforward but not without challenges.
You’re advised to take the test twice daily, morning and night. You hold it under your tongue briefly to collect saliva, let it sit for 20 minutes, then scan a QR code with your phone.
It requires a surprisingly substantial amount of saliva; I had to attempt several times to get an adequate sample.
“If you think you have enough, you probably need more,” Pavlovic-Rivas suggested.
Dan faced issues with the QR code on his phone, but once he got it working, it proved beneficial. The tests have shown a 97% correlation with FDA-approved results and can even detect minor changes in cortisol levels.
The accompanying app allows users to monitor factors influencing cortisol—like diet and exercise—and helps adjust routines based on feedback.
Pavlovic-Rivas highlighted how discussing lifestyle impacts on cortisol levels can help individuals prioritize their actions.
In addition, Eli Health has launched a progesterone tracker aimed at monitoring another critical hormone for health and reproduction.
“Hormones shape our emotions and health, but they often go unnoticed,” she added, noting that hormonal issues affect over 60% of adults at some point.
“Unfortunately, many don’t address these problems until much later, sometimes years. Eli Health was created to tackle this issue,” she concluded.
