Contact: Salimetrics (USA)
- Clinical Laboratory -
Using just 3 key biomarkers (cortisol, insulin, and melatonin) will unlock insights into your family’s own biology to enhance nutrition, sleep, and stress – the 3 core pillars of a healthy lifestyle.
Cortisol: The “stress hormone” cortisol peaks in the morning to help us wake up and tapers off throughout the day.
Insulin: The “blood sugar” hormone insulin fluctuates based on our meals and overall metabolic activity where its function is closely related to energy regulation in the body.
Melatonin: The “sleep hormone” melatonin rises in the evening to prepare our bodies for rest.
Three Hormones; One Healthy Lifestyle
While cortisol, melatonin, and insulin are important to balance stress, sleep and metabolism, individually, they collectively influence each other in key aspects of our health as well:
- Cortisol affects metabolism by regulating blood sugar levels and influences sleep by controlling our wakefulness.
- Melatonin impacts metabolism by modulating energy balance and influences stress by promoting relaxation and restorative sleep.
- Insulin also affects sleep patterns and stress levels by maintaining energy balance and supporting stable blood sugar levels.
Measuring these biomarkers at different times of the day provides unparalleled insight into the three pillars of health—nutrition, sleep, and stress—allowing for more precise and effective health management.
Our expert panels take into account these interconnected evaluations to give you the best option to capture overall health and wellness.
Time is of the Essence
In short, insulin, melatonin, and cortisol exhibit diurnal (daily) variations in their secretion patterns. This means that collecting samples at appropriate times—such as fasting for insulin, nighttime for melatonin, and morning for cortisol—provides a more comprehensive picture of these hormones’ roles in metabolism, sleep-wake cycles, and stress responses, enhancing accuracy and change planning. You can’t get this information from a blood draw unless you have access to a phlebotomist as soon as you wake up or just as you are getting ready to go to bed to collect these samples when they are the most meaningful. Here, you can see how each time-point will tell you a unique story about your health based on the sample collection timing guide.
Biomarker Sample Collection Timing Guide
Collection Time: 30 Minutes After Waking
| Biomarker | Expected Levels | What I’ll Learn |
| Cortisol | High | This “wake-up hormone” peaks shortly after you rise, helping you start your day energized. Testing it can tell you if your body is on track or if stress might be throwing you off balance. |
| Insulin | Low | This early check shows how well your body is using sugar after a night’s rest. It’s a sneak peek at your day’s energy potential. |
| Melatonin | Varies | Ideally, this sleep hormone should be low by morning. If it’s not, it might be why you’re not feeling ready to tackle the day. Most meaningful when measured in conjunction with a mid-day sample. (Why?) Combining morning and mid-day samples helps assess melatonin clearance. While some melatonin may be present upon waking, consistently high levels in both samples can contribute to excessive daytime fatigue. |
Collection Time: Mid-Day
| Biomarker | Expected Levels | What I’ll Learn |
| Cortisol | Varies | Most meaningful when measured in conjunction with a morning and evening sample. (Why?) In well-regulated individuals, mid-day cortisol should be lower than morning cortisol, but higher than evening cortisol. Including a mid-day sample provides a more comprehensive view of the diurnal cortisol rhythm, to help assess HPA-axis function and stress-recovery. |
| Insulin | Varies | See how your body handles lunch and learn if your diet is keeping your energy steady or causing crashes. How your body manages blood sugar is critical for metabolic health and preventing conditions like Type 2 diabetes. Most meaningful when measured 2-3 hours after a mid-day meal (postprandial). (Why?) Insulin levels rise with food but should return to normal within 2-3 hours. If they stay high, your body may need extra support in processing sugars and carbs. |
| Melatonin | Low | If it’s high, you may still be feeling groggy and ready to go back to bed. This can mean excess supplementation or just general disruption. |
Collection Time: Before Bedtime
| Biomarker | Expected Levels | What I’ll Learn |
| Cortisol | Low | If it’s high, stress might be forcing you to count sheep instead of counting Zzzz’s. |
| Insulin | Low | Assess how well the body manages blood sugar after dinner. If it’s high, your late-day snacks might need a rethink. |
| Melatonin | High | High levels mean your body is ready for rest. If it’s low, it might explain why good sleep is just a dream. |
One is the Loneliest Number – Why 2 Day Sampling for Hormones is Better – Every Time.
A single test at one random time on one day only gives you a snapshot—but your health isn’t static, it’s constantly changing. Key hormone levels, like cortisol and melatonin, follow circadian rhythms, while insulin fluctuates throughout the day in response to meals and metabolic demands. These patterns are shaped by your environment and daily activities, such as sleep, light exposure, and eating habits.
With just one sample, you might miss the full picture of how your body adapts to daily routines. By collecting multiple samples across different times and days, you get a more complete and dynamic view of your body’s natural patterns. This approach helps uncover trends, fluctuations, and imbalances that a one-time test simply can’t. With biomonitoring, you gain deeper, more actionable insights into your health over time.
Ready for the Next Step?
Now that you know how each biomarker, sample and time point reveals key insights about your metabolism, sleep, and stress levels, you’re ready to take the next step toward understanding your health. By collecting your samples at the right times, you’ll get the most accurate picture of your body’s daily rhythms—all without multiple lab visits or blood draws!
Choose the health panel that fits your needs below and start gaining real, actionable insights today.