Table of Contents: 1. Measuring Cortisol: The Salivary-Cortisol Protocol Imagine this: you, early morning, the mirror lingering with fog from your breath… and you spit into a tube. That’s a salivary cortisol test. It’s easy for you—and revealing for science. In a randomized, double-blind trial, researchers gave 60 adults—aged 20 to 55—either SHR-5 extract of Rhodiola rosea or placebo for 28 days. They measured salivary cortisol at awakening. The rhodiola group showed a significant drop