Cortisol Load Score

Cortisol is the body’s primary stress hormone. In acute doses, it mobilizes energy and sharpens focus. In chronic elevation, it suppresses immune function, impairs recovery, degrades sleep, and reduces adaptation to training. The Cortisol Load Score cannot measure cortisol directly from a wearable — but it can measure the physiological signatures of chronic cortisol elevation with high accuracy. Cortisol Load Score — CLS CLS Chronic stress accumulation score from wearable HRV, sleep, RHR, and training monotony data. CORTISOL STRESS CHRONIC LOAD BURNOUT RISK Measure → Understand → Train → Improve Continuous measurement → AI interpretation → Personalized prescription → Tracked improvement Chronic reduction from baseline Architecture degradation Sustained above baseline Same stimulus, compounding stress

Meeusen et al. (2013) showed chronic cortisol elevation is a hallmark of non-functional overreaching and overtraining syndrome. Buchheit (2014) demonstrated that the combination of HRV suppression, sleep disruption, and elevated

Cortisol Load Score: Stress Accumulation Made Visible The CLS estimates cumulative stress load from wearable proxies — HRV suppression patterns, sleep disruption, resting HR elevation, and training monotony — tracking the chronic stress that erodes performance from within. Noah Wickliffe, M.S. · Founder, MyoSport Inc. · 8 min read

RHR provides a reliable proxy for chronic stress load without blood testing. The CLS implements these findings in a continuous monitoring framework. “Chronic stress is invisible until it isn’t. The CLS makes it visible early — when the intervention is a rest week, not a lost season.” — Noah Wickliffe, M.S., Flowbase Score Series Cortisol proxy from wearables 3+ Days of elevation before warning Early Detection prevents overtraining

The AI Coach uses the CLS as a long-term health monitor. Unlike daily scores that fluctuate, the CLS tracks slow trends — the gradual accumulation of stress that athletes and coaches miss because it builds so slowly. When CLS rises above threshold for 5+ days, the AI prescribes an active recovery block regardless of where the training plan says you should be. The CLS is the long-range radar of the scoring system. It sees the storm building weeks before it arrives — and tells the AI Coach to change course before damage is done. Know Your Numbers. Own Your Performance. All 18+ scores are built into every Flowbase athlete account.