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Pardigm.com has launched a rapid saliva test to measure cortisol, the stress hormone that affects nearly every cell and biological process in our bodies. This new technology allows everyone to use a smartphone camera to read their test results, thus eliminating the need for large or expensive laboratory equipment and skilled technicians. Now, individuals can receive results almost instantly, similar to a covid rapid test. There are two key parts to this breakthrough technology: The Enhanced Rapid Test: Pardigm.com has optimized the test strip so that smartphones can read it easily. The Proprietary AI: Pardigm.com leverages the most advanced Computer Vision and Deep Learning Technologies (CVDL). Once you take a picture of your result, our proprietary algorithms analyze the photo for you. Paradigm holds two patents on the computer-vision methodology.

Currently, Pardigm.com's product is only available within the United States.

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We like to be transparant with our findings. Below, please find some of our research into rapid cortisol testing. Pardigm.com Technology for Real-Time Measurement of Salivary Cortisol Salivary Cortisol and Heart Rate Variability: Cortisol Is Superior When Monitoring Health, Recovery and Preparedness

The world is overstressed, and it’s harming us in ways we don’t realize. In fact, it’s estimated that 60% to 80% of all doctor visits are for stress-related problems. And each of the top 10 drugs prescribed in the Western world addresses those issues, from anxiety to high blood pressure. It’s such an urgent issue that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century. Stress-related issues may start as fatigue, digestion problems, mood swings, weight gain … maybe a headache here or there. Then it builds. Over time, there are health risks of stress. It can lead to a long list of issues. Think depression, heart disease, diabetes, infertility, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and more. It can even speed up aging, knocking years off your life. And it doesn’t matter what shape you’re in – you’re still at risk of complications if your stress levels are elevated for too long. Even elite athletes, who are at the top of their game, are at risk. By training without proper recovery, they can put too much stress on their bodies, leading to reduced muscle strength and performance. And more injuries can result. So if you’re an athlete, biohacker or just someone trying to live a healthier life, it’s vital for you to monitor and manage your stress levels. Paradigm is going to show you both how to deal with stress and also how to treat chronic stress.

What is the main stress hormone? Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by your adrenal glands. However, it doesn't only help you overcome momentary stresses. You produce it daily to help regulate your sleep-wake cycle, your metabolism, your immune response and more. How Cortisol works is that every morning, about 30 minutes after you wake up, your cortisol levels peak to help you get ready for the day. Then they decline, reaching their lowest point around midnight. During the day, this hormone is busy managing a variety of functions, including: Managing your glucose (blood sugar). Managing the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Reducing inflammation. Regulating your blood pressure and body temperature. Formulating memories. All so your body is operating as efficiently as it can. However, when something threatens you (physically or mentally), your sympathetic nervous system is triggered, flipping your fight-or-flight-or-freeze response into “on” mode. It’s like your body’s alarm system, and it signals your adrenal glands to flood more cortisol into your bloodstream. In short bursts, this has benefits. Cortisol can raise your blood sugar, for example, and give you a boost of energy to handle a stressor. Then it can restore balance afterward. However, your flight-or-fight-or-freeze response was not built for the unique stresses of modern-day life. Stressors today are difficult to fight off and nearly impossible to flee from. Just worrying about a stressful event — even if it won’t likely happen — can set off a hormonal response. That’s why many people’s alarm systems are stuck in “on” mode. This chronic stress keeps cortisol levels high … and suddenly, a system meant to protect them starts to harm them instead. High cortisol levels can shut down non-essential functions, such as your reproductive system, immune system and even growth processes. They can cause you to keep releasing energy from sugars and fats, even after the urgent need is gone. And all of this can damage processes in every single cell of your body. That’s when stress-related problems can develop. Everything from mood swings to heart disease. The answer to getting ahead of chronic stress is monitoring your cortisol levels and taking action when they are too high for too long.

Many wonder, is Cortisol good or bad? There are a number of conditions tied to abnormal cortisol levels. But first, let’s talk about the extremes. When people have high levels of cortisol, they may be suffering from Cushing Syndrome. It’s characterized by excess cortisol levels and symptoms such as weight gain, high blood pressure, bone loss and type 2 diabetes. When people have extremely low levels of cortisol, they may be suffering from adrenal insufficiency or Addison's Disease (although rare). Symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, muscle weakness and weight loss. However, most people do not fall into these extremes. They may be suffering from chronic stress or other dysfunctions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which can alter cortisol levels. Symptoms from this fall into a wide range, as illustrated in this graphic. Please note that any symptoms should be discussed with a medical professional. Pardigm.com's content and research are for informational and educational purposes only, and do not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with health care professionals.

Yes. There are health risks of stress being chronically high or low, however, most people do not fall into these extremes. So why should you manage your Cortisol? Because 70% of the population have imbalanced Cortisol levels leading to a wide array of health conditions and diseases. Paradigm will help you to understand your Cortisol levels and give you a plan to normalize them. We’ll show you how to reduce your Cortisol, if needed or to increase levels, which is less common. We will show you how to deal with stress from the inside out through real-time stress testing mindset, sleep, nutrition and exercise programs specifically

Cortisol is the biomarker we should be looking at as the #1 cause for diagnosing Long Covid, predicting those who will develop Long Covid and identifying those at increased risk of mortality. If you have Long Covid symptoms, please ask your physician about Cortisol testing. Unfortunately, there is no science related to Cortisol and Long Covid treatment. Learn more

Cortisol is the #1 overlooked factor in fertility. There is such a thing as infertility-related stress. Just 20% higher cortisol levels can halt ovulation–potentially explaining 50%-70% of infertility cases. Learn more

Cortisol’s role in menopause has been scientifically studied for decades. “If women are able to sustain an optimal cortisol level, it could dictate just how well the transitional period goes for them,” says Professor Sarah Berga, PhD. No, it is not a treatment for menopausal symptoms, but a 20% variance will cause more severe symptoms, so controlling Cortisol levels is ideal. Learn more

Step 1: Set Your Goals When you receive your test kit, log into the Pardigm.com app. Set your personal goals to create a customized action plan. Schedule your baseline tests for the first day. There will be five: 1) Right after wake-up, 2) 30 mins later, 3) Noon, 4) 6 p.m. and 5) Right before bed, before brushing teeth. Step 2: Test and Scan Follow the directions for using the salivary cortisol test strip. Take a photo of your strip with your iPhone. (Tests can only be used with iPhones for now.) Let the algorithms do the work for you Step 3: Get Instant Results Results will appear in a few minutes. You're on your way to understanding your health. Step 4: Control Your Cortisol Start testing each morning throughout your first week. Schedule your 20-minute Zoom consultation in your first week to discuss results and next steps.

One cortisol reading isn’t enough to gain insight into your body’s stress response. Your cortisol level typically rises and falls in a diurnal-variation pattern, meaning the cycle repeats every 24 hours. Every day, your cortisol peaks about 30 minutes after you wake up, before declining throughout the day. It reaches its lowest level around midnight. That’s why it’s best to test your cortisol level multiple times over a long-term period. This allows you to establish a baseline for your daily cortisol production and then assess changes as they occur. By measuring cortisol levels on a daily basis, top athletes can also measure their recovery and preparedness for their next training session, and with that information, they can optimize their training schedule.

It’s best to get a baseline on Day 1. That baseline schedule inlcudes five tests: 1) Right after wake-up, 2) 30 mins later, 3) Noon, 4) 6 p.m. and 5) Bedtime, before brushing teeth. Then an average user can test themselves daily, each morning at wake-up, for at least a week. We offer a one-on-one consultation with an expert on Zoom that should be scheduled within your first week to discuss results and next steps. Currently, our expert consultants are not allowed to diagnose or provide any medical recommendations, but they can help interpret data.

After establishing your basline (five tests on Day 1), we recommend testing when you wake up in the morning, before brushing your teeth.

Results will vary by individuals. However, typically, cortisol levels peak about 30 minutes after you wake up and decline throughout the day, reaching their lowest level around midnight. This pattern can be disrupted by a number of factors, such as acute stress, health conditions or even irregular sleeping patterns (such at night shifts). So if your cortisol curve does not follow the normal peak and decline trend (be it a steep drop, elevated levels, rising later in the day, etc.), it’s worth analyzing further. You will get a sense of this after establishing your baseline on Day 1. It’s normal to have questions. That’s why you can schedule a 20-minute Zoom with an expert after you establish your baseline, as part of your membership.

Eating, drinking and brushing your teeth may impact your reading. We recommend no eating or drinking before the first two baseline measurements. You can eat and drink normally throughout the day afterward. But try not to eat or drink half an hour before the last test of the day. And take your test before brushing your teeth. Keep these guidelines in mind for further tests.

Real-time cortisol testing is necessary because it allows you to immediately understand your cortisol levels. When you establish a baseline and test your levels over the following weeks, you have the opportunity to monitor your trends (and any associated stressors), allowing you and your health care professional to make any needed adjustments in real time. Prior to real-time testing, you would typically have to wait anywhere from a few days to a month to receive your lab results. At that point, your results would provide little insight into your body’s continuous stress response. It would be like measuring your heart beat for a second.

Two other traditional cortisol-testing methods include blood and urine tests. The urine test is typically done over 24 hours, allowing a broad view of your daily cortisol level. Blood tests, on the other hand, are more common. But they only measure cortisol levels at a particular time of day. And blood tests are not as reliable as saliva due to measuring both bound and unbound cortisol. Both tests can be stressful or complicated to collect and are generally not user-friendly. That's particularly important in cortisol testing: If you're stressed during your test, you may produce more cortisol, leading to inexact results. A newer method, sweat sensing, has been investigated. But it has not proven to work effectively outside of a lab. All things considered, saliva testing is the best option when it comes to addressing efficiency, convenience and accuracy.

All you need is an iPhone and our rapid tests. Ours tests can only be used with iPhones for now. Androids to follow.

You receive a test kit valued at $999 for $599. (Early-bird price for beta users.) This includes everything you need to establish your baseline cortisol level and monitor your stress response for about three to six weeks. It also includes the resources and tools you need to analyze those results, set goals and take action. Here’s everything that you get: Auto-Renewal Pardigm.com Membership (Until 1/1/23). With our annual membership, you have carte blanche access to our cortisol test-reader app, health dashboard (including sleep and heart rate insights from your devices), smart alerts, benchmarking and curated recommendations. This membership auto-renews after 1/1/23 as either a monthly or annual rate, depending on your choice. 25 Cortisol Tests, Including Salivary Collection kits. These user-friendly rapid tests will cover about three to six weeks of testing, depending on your baseline. One-on-One Expert Consultation (20 minutes). After establishing your baselines, you can discuss the results with an expert coach in sports science or endocrinology. Simply schedule your Zoom consultation in our app. (No diagnosis or personalized medical advice.) Monthly Group Coaching Sessions (20 minutes). After your first one-on-one consultation, you’ll still have access to our experts. Every month, you can join a 20-minute group coaching session until the end of 2022. Free Shipping and Handling for 48 Contiguous States. Only ships within the United States. Shipping & handling fees required for Alaska and Hawaii. Zero Risk Purchase. Cancel your pre-order for free at any time up until seven days before shipment. Canceling your pre-order after that? An administrative and handling fee of $100 will be charged.

Monthly plans: $19.99 will be charged every month after. Annual Plans: Membership renews at $9.99 a month. ($119.88 will be charged on January 1, 2023.)

Yes, for $99 you can schedule an additional 20-minute zoom with an expert in sports science or endocrinology.

For teams and bulk orders (100-plus tests) please contact us here. A subscription is required for every individual.

Cancel your pre-order for free at any time up until seven days before shipment. Canceling your pre-order after that? An administrative and handling fee of $100 will be charged.

Pardigm.com respects your data and right to privacy. We don't sell our members' personal health information and only use anonymized data for analysis and product improvement. If you want your data deleted, you can have that done at any time by emailing info@pardigm.com.