Cortisol Awakening Response
Measures your Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) — how your stress system fires in the first hour after waking — with 5 simple saliva samples. Adds HPA-axis depth to any DUTCH™ test.
- Reveals how your stress system fires in the first hour awake
- 5 simple saliva samples — waking to +60 minutes
- The most sensitive marker of HPA-axis health
- Adds depth to any DUTCH™ hormone panel
Your stress system in the first hour after waking
Five quick saliva samples from waking to +60 minutes map the cortisol surge that reflects how resilient — or depleted — your stress system is.
The CAR curve
The rise and fall of cortisol across your first waking hour — its shape tells the story.
When you sample
Five saliva samples at set times — easy to do at home before your day starts.
Why it matters
A blunted or exaggerated CAR is linked to burnout, fatigue and poor sleep.
Why the awakening response?
In the first 30–60 minutes after you wake, healthy adrenals fire a sharp surge of cortisol — the Cortisol Awakening Response. Its size and shape are one of the most sensitive readouts of HPA-axis (stress-system) health.
A blunted or exaggerated CAR is linked to burnout, fatigue, poor sleep and chronic stress — patterns a single daytime reading misses. Five quick saliva samples across that first hour map it precisely, adding depth to any DUTCH™ test.
From your door to your results in 4 steps
Order online
Your kit ships free, with 5 saliva tubes and a simple timing guide.
Collect on waking
Five quick saliva samples — at waking, +15, +30, +45 and +60 minutes.
Mail it back
Use the prepaid return mailer — the lab runs your analysis.
Get reviewed results
Your CAR curve, reviewed with practitioner guidance, in 10–15 business days.
A clear, visual hormone report
Your results come as colour-coded graphs with embedded video tutorials — every hormone and metabolite plotted against optimal ranges, so you and your practitioner can see exactly what's driving your symptoms and what to do next.
How it compares to a standard blood test
Trusted by people getting to the root of their hormones
"After years of being told my bloodwork was 'normal,' the DUTCH™ finally showed the cortisol pattern behind my fatigue. Game-changing."
"So easy to do at home, and the report was incredibly detailed. My practitioner built a whole protocol around the metabolite results."
"Seeing my estrogen and progesterone mapped out finally explained my PMS. Worth every penny."
Cortisol Awakening Response — common questions
DUTCH™ (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) measures your sex and adrenal hormones and their metabolites from a few dried-urine samples collected at home. It shows not just hormone levels but how your body produces and processes them.
You collect a few small dried-urine samples on filter paper across a single day at home — no blood draw and no clinic visit. The dried strips are stable to mail back in the prepaid envelope.
Your report is typically ready within about 10–15 business days of the lab receiving your samples, and is reviewed with practitioner guidance. Free shipping across Canada.
The CAR is an add-on that pairs with a DUTCH™ hormone test for the fullest stress picture — it's already built into DUTCH™ Plus. Order it on its own here if your practitioner asked for the awakening response specifically, or to add it alongside a DUTCH™ Complete.
Map your morning stress response
Free shipping · certified lab · practitioner-reviewed results.