Illustrative composite case for practitioner education — not a real patient record.
Presentation
A client in a high-demand role reported classic burnout — poor sleep, low resilience, and afternoon crashes.
Hair cortisol findings
Hair cortisol reflected an elevated cumulative exposure over the preceding months — a longer window than a single-day salivary curve.
Interpretation & support
The result supported an HPA-axis-load framing and a paced recovery plan, with the practitioner using the objective marker to set expectations.
Follow-up
A later re-test offered an objective way to confirm the cumulative load was trending down.