16 March 2026 · Dr. Lara Pajk · 9 min read · science
Breath and Burnout: The Cortisol Connection
Chronic shallow breathing is not a symptom of stress — it is one of the engines that keeps stress chemistry locked in.
Burnout is widely treated as a psychological problem. It is not. It is, first and foremost, a chronic dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system — and breath is the lever that operates that system most directly. The cortisol curve, broken A healthy cortisol curve peaks 30 minutes after waking and tapers gently into the evening. In burnout, the curve flattens — high in the evening, low in the m…
Tags: cortisol, burnout, stress