- Decreased cortisol output in urine is related to vasomotor and somatic symptoms
- The Cortisol Awakening Response was found to increase in women who experience more vasomotor symptoms (p<0.05)
   - CAR leads to a peak in diurnal cortisol levels around the time of awakening and decreases throughout the day
- Depression was found to increase cortisol levels (can be related to confinement)


Michigan State University

- Diurnal cortisol secretions play a role in the presence of environmental stressors
- CAR alone was found to not be statistically significant in determining total perceived stress during confinement
  - However, CAR along with BRCS (which is the brief resilient coping score) was found to be statistically significant in predicting total perceived stress (p = 0.035) when confined
    - BRCS is more effective alone than both combining both (p=0.017)
      - These factors come together to relate confinement and stress during the pandemic



Measurements/Scores Taken on Cortisol and Stress During Confinement 

Cortisol levels would peak around 6 am for all levels of isolation. This could be due to our body's ability to restore cortisol levels to normal when we sleep, and these levels go down as the day progresses and stress increases (since we are using up cortisol)

Levels of Isolation and Cortisol Levels

Katainen, R., Kalleinen, N., Teperi, S., Vahlberg, T., Turpeinen, U., Hämäläinen, E., ... & Polo-Kantola, P. (2018). The relationship between diurnal cortisol secretion and climacteric-related symptoms. Maturitas, 115, 37-44.

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