Female All Day Cortisol Test
Does Your Energy Change From Morning to Night?
Do you struggle to wake up, experience an afternoon energy dip or feel tired but unable to switch off at bedtime?
This at-home test helps answer one clear question:
How does your cortisol change from morning to bedtime, and does each result fall within the expected range for that time of day?
Collect four saliva samples across one day. Your ZRT Laboratory report shows each measured cortisol level, compares it with the appropriate time-specific reference range and presents your results on a clear visual graph.
The report also includes individualised comments from ZRT’s hormone-specialist clinical team. These comments explain your results in context and, where appropriate, suggest what you could consider or discuss with your healthcare professional next.
£185 — laboratory analysis and specialist laboratory comments included
- Four saliva samples collected at home
- Morning, midday, evening and bedtime cortisol results
- Time-specific reference-range comparisons
- Visual graph showing your cortisol pattern across the day
- Individualised hormone-specialist laboratory comments
- Suggestions for appropriate next steps
- Physician-reviewed ZRT Laboratory report
- Normally reported within 3–5 working days after the laboratory receives your samples
Is This Test Right for Me?
This test may provide useful additional information if you experience:
- Persistent tiredness or changing energy levels
- Difficulty becoming alert in the morning
- Waking feeling unrefreshed
- Afternoon energy dips
- Heavy reliance on caffeine to maintain energy
- Feeling tired but unable to relax in the evening
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Night waking
- Feeling stressed, tense or overwhelmed
- Tiredness or sleep problems alongside PMS, perimenopause or menopause
- Symptoms occurring at several different times of day
It is particularly useful when your symptoms change during the day and one morning cortisol result would not provide enough information.
The results should be considered alongside your sleep pattern, collection times, menstrual or menopausal stage, lifestyle, medicines and current treatments.
What Will My Results Help Me Understand?
Your report is designed to show your individual cortisol measurements and how they change across the collection day.
1. See Your Morning Cortisol Level
The morning sample is collected within 30 minutes of waking.
Your report shows whether the result falls within the laboratory’s expected morning range.
This provides objective information to consider alongside morning tiredness, difficulty becoming alert and how refreshed you feel after sleep.
2. Review Your Midday Cortisol Level
The second sample shows your measured cortisol level around the middle of the day.
This can be considered alongside afternoon energy dips, caffeine use, meals, workload and activity.
A result outside the expected range may provide a useful reason to review these factors or discuss further investigation with your healthcare professional.
3. Understand Your Evening and Bedtime Results
The evening and bedtime samples show your measured cortisol levels as the day moves towards sleep.
These results can be considered alongside difficulty winding down, evening restlessness, insomnia or night waking.
They may help you review factors such as late caffeine, alcohol, evening work, demanding exercise close to bedtime and your usual wind-down routine.
4. See the Overall Daily Pattern
Your four results are plotted on a visual graph, making it easier to see how your measured cortisol changes from morning to bedtime.
This provides more information than one morning result and helps identify which time points, if any, fall outside their expected ranges.
5. Consider What to Do Next
Your laboratory comments explain the measured pattern and may identify relevant points to discuss with your healthcare professional.
Depending on your results and symptoms, this may help you decide whether to:
- Review sleep and waking times
- Change the timing of caffeine, exercise or demanding activities
- Keep an energy, stress or sleep diary
- Discuss a high or low result with your healthcare professional
- Investigate other possible causes of persistent tiredness or sleep problems
- Consider reproductive-hormone, thyroid, iron or nutritional testing where appropriate
- Consider a Cortisol Awakening Response test where the first hour after waking needs closer assessment
- Monitor symptoms and repeat testing after an agreed period
The profile provides measured cortisol information to support your next decision. It cannot determine the cause of your symptoms or diagnose an adrenal, menstrual or menopausal condition by itself.
What Will My Report Include?
Your physician-reviewed ZRT Laboratory report includes:
- Your morning cortisol result
- Your midday cortisol result
- Your evening cortisol result
- Your bedtime cortisol result
- A separate reference range for each collection time
- Clear within-range, high or low result indicators
- A visual graph showing your cortisol pattern
- Your recorded sample collection times
- Relevant medicines and hormone treatments reported on your form
- Your reported symptoms, where applicable
- Individualised hormone-specialist laboratory comments
- Relevant suggestions or considerations based on the findings
If previous ZRT results are available, they may also appear for comparison, helping you follow changes over time.
View the All Day Cortisol Sample Report.
What Does the Test Measure?
The test measures cortisol at four points across one day:
- Morning cortisol
- Midday cortisol
- Evening cortisol
- Bedtime cortisol
Cortisol naturally changes throughout the day. Each result is interpreted against the laboratory range for its collection time.
The test shows your measured daily cortisol pattern. It does not measure progesterone, oestrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones or melatonin.
Test Details
Test ID: S-120
Sample type: Saliva
Hormone measured: Cortisol
Results reported: 4 — morning, midday, evening and bedtime
Testing method: ECLIA
Collection: Four saliva samples collected across one day
Laboratory: ZRT Laboratory — CLIA-certified
Specialist interpretation: Individualised hormone-specialist laboratory comments included
Report review: Physician-reviewed
Suitable for: Adults and children
Laboratory reporting time: Normally 3–5 working days after the laboratory receives your samples
What Is Included?
Your purchase includes:
- At-home saliva collection kit
- One morning collection tube
- Three additional collection tubes
- Test Requisition Form
- Step-by-step collection instructions
- Laboratory analysis of four cortisol samples
- Complete ZRT Laboratory results report
- Time-specific reference-range comparisons
- Visual cortisol graph
- Individualised hormone-specialist laboratory comments
- Suggestions or considerations for appropriate next steps
- Physician review of the report
- Laboratory analysis fee
The specialist interpretation is included within your ZRT Laboratory report, so there is no separate interpretation to wait for. Return postage to the laboratory is paid separately by the customer.
How It Works
1. Collect Four Samples at Home
Collect saliva at four points on the same day:
- Within 30 minutes of waking
- Before lunch
- Before dinner
- Before bed
No blood draw, appointment or clinic visit is required.
2. Send Your Samples to the Laboratory
Label each tube with the correct collection date and time, complete your Test Requisition Form and post everything to ZRT Laboratory using the packaging and return instructions supplied.
Accurate collection times and complete details about your symptoms, medicines, supplements and treatments help the laboratory prepare the most relevant comments.
3. Receive Your Explained Results
ZRT Laboratory analyses your samples and prepares your physician-reviewed report.
The report normally arrives within 3–5 working days after the laboratory receives your samples. It includes your four cortisol results, time-specific comparisons, visual graph, individualised comments and relevant next-step considerations.
Kit delivery and return-postage time are separate from the laboratory reporting period.
Which Cortisol Test Should I Choose?
| What do you want to understand? | Recommended test |
|---|---|
| Is my cortisol within the expected range shortly after waking? | Female Morning Cortisol Saliva Test |
| How does my cortisol change from morning to bedtime? | Female All Day Cortisol Test |
| How does my cortisol change across the day, and what is my DHEAS level? | Female Adrenal Function Saliva Test Kit |
| How does my cortisol respond during the first hour after waking and then across the day? | Female Cortisol Awakening Response Test |
Choose this test if your tiredness, energy, stress or sleep concerns occur at different times of day.
Choose the morning test if your symptoms mainly occur shortly after waking and you want a simpler starting point.
Preparing for Your Test
For accurate and usable samples:
- Collect all four samples on the same day.
- Begin the morning collection within 30 minutes of waking.
- Do not eat, drink anything other than water or brush your teeth before the morning sample.
- Before later samples, avoid food, drinks other than water and brushing your teeth for at least two hours.
- Avoid anti-ageing or anti-wrinkle facial creams and biotin supplements for three days before testing.
- Record all medicines, supplements and hormone treatments on the Test Requisition Form.
- Label every tube with the correct collection date and time.
- Fill each tube at least halfway, excluding bubbles.
- Freeze the samples if you will not post them within 24 hours.
Because this test measures cortisol only, it can be collected on any day of your menstrual cycle.
If you use HRT, hormonal contraception, corticosteroids or another hormone treatment, follow the treatment-specific instructions supplied with your kit.
Read the Full Saliva Collection Instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Report Explain What My Results Mean?
Yes. Your ZRT Laboratory report includes individualised comments from its hormone-specialist clinical team and is physician-reviewed.
The comments explain your four cortisol measurements in context and may include relevant considerations or suggestions about what to discuss with your healthcare professional next.
Why Measure Cortisol Four Times?
Cortisol naturally changes during the day. Four samples allow the laboratory to compare your morning, midday, evening and bedtime measurements with the appropriate ranges and display the pattern on a graph.
A single morning sample cannot show what your cortisol level is later in the day.
Does the Morning Sample Measure My Cortisol Awakening Response?
No. A Cortisol Awakening Response assessment requires several closely timed samples during the first hour after waking.
This test collects one morning sample and three later samples to show your broader daily cortisol pattern.
When Should I Collect During My Menstrual Cycle?
Because the test measures cortisol only, you can collect your samples on any day of your menstrual cycle.
Follow the treatment-timing instructions if you use HRT, hormonal contraception or another relevant medicine.
Can I Use This Test While Taking HRT or the Contraceptive Pill?
Yes, subject to the collection and treatment-timing instructions. Continue prescribed treatment unless your prescriber advises otherwise.
Record HRT, contraception and all other treatments on the Test Requisition Form. The test measures cortisol and does not assess whether your hormone treatment is effective.
Can This Test Assess PMS, Perimenopause or Menopause?
The profile can add cortisol information when tiredness or sleep problems occur alongside PMS, perimenopause or menopause.
It does not measure reproductive hormones and cannot identify whether those symptoms are caused by oestrogen or progesterone changes.
Do I Need to Fast?
You do not need to complete a separate fasting period.
Collect the morning sample before breakfast. Before later samples, do not eat, drink anything other than water or brush your teeth for at least two hours.
Why Use Saliva?
Saliva allows you to collect several timed samples at home without repeated blood draws or clinic visits. It measures the unbound cortisol present in each sample.
How Quickly Will I Receive My Results?
The laboratory normally reports within 3–5 working days after receiving your samples. Kit delivery and return-postage times are additional.
How Long Can I Keep the Kit?
Use the kit within 12 months of purchase.
Are There Any Additional Charges?
The collection kit, laboratory analysis and ZRT Laboratory report are included in the price. You are responsible for arranging and paying for return postage to the laboratory.
Not Sure Whether This Is the Right Test?
Email info@hormonelab.co.uk with your age, main symptoms, medicines and current treatments. Our team will forward your enquiry to our specialist doctors and respond with a suggested testing option within 24 hours.
