Move before the hard thing

Exercise doesn't "sweat the cortisol out", whatever you've heard; the liver and kidneys clear it. What regular exercise does is blunt how hard your stress system fires in the first place. Evidence: decent And in the lab, thirty minutes of moderate running ninety minutes before a stressful task lowered men's cortisol response to it. Evidence: decent That's one study, in young men, at a jogging pace; nobody has tested an easy stroll the same way. Evidence: worth trying

Moderate is the point. A hard session right before raises cortisol on its own and leaves you flushed. Evidence: decent A fast walk or easy jog leaves you steadier. Evidence: worth trying