If you’ve taken a 7-sample cortisol test, you might wonder why the report only shows 5 data points. This is completely correct — and here’s why:
When multiple morning saliva samples are collected, the first three are combined (or “pooled”) by the laboratory into a single averaged value.
This is done because cortisol levels can fluctuate rapidly in the morning, and pooling these samples provides a more stable and accurate picture of your morning cortisol curve.
So even though you submitted 7 samples, the result shows 5 cortisol values — exactly as intended by the analysis method.