Nervous system regulation: habits that help your body settle

Nervous system regulation is how your body shifts between alert and calm as the day changes. Stress speeds up your heart rate and breathing, and rest slows them again. Steady sleep, daylight, movement, regular meals and slow breathing may help that shift feel smoother.¹²⁹¹⁰

What is nervous system regulation?

Nervous system regulation is a popular phrase, not a medical term. It describes how well your body moves between "fight or flight" and "rest and digest" as demands change. Two branches of your autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic and the parasympathetic, handle this without any effort from you.¹

When you meet a challenge, your body releases hormones. Your heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure go up, your muscles tense and you sweat more. Occasional stress is a normal way of coping. Long-term stress may contribute to or worsen a range of health problems.²

The opposite state is sometimes called the relaxation response. It slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and lowers levels of stress hormones.² The goal is not to feel calm all day. A steady system moves up when it needs to, then comes back down.

You may also hear about the vagus nerve. These are the main nerves of the parasympathetic system, and they help control digestion, heart rate and the immune system.¹ The approved medical use is an implanted device, vagus nerve stimulation, which the FDA has approved for epilepsy and for depression that has not responded to standard therapies.¹

What are signs your body is stuck in stress mode?

Common signs of ongoing stress include a faster heartbeat, muscle tension, stomach problems, trouble concentrating, feeling overwhelmed, irritability, and sleeping or eating too much or too little. These signs are not specific to stress, so read them as a prompt to look closer, not as a label.³

The NHS groups the signs of stress this way:³

• Physical: headaches or dizziness, muscle tension or pain, stomach problems, chest pain or a faster heartbeat.³
• Mental: difficulty concentrating, struggling to make decisions, feeling overwhelmed, constantly worrying, being forgetful.³
• Behavior: being irritable and snappy, sleeping too much or too little, eating too much or too little, drinking or smoking more.³

Many of these also appear in anxiety. The NHS lists difficulty sleeping, restlessness, getting tired easily, feeling tense, stomach problems, a noticeable heartbeat and feeling lightheaded.⁴ Other conditions can look similar. An overactive thyroid, for example, can bring tiredness, nervousness, irritability and muscle weakness.⁵ A list of signs cannot tell you the cause.

When should you talk to your doctor?

Talk to your doctor if stress is getting in the way of daily life, if what you try on your own is not helping, or if you are struggling to cope. Call 911 for chest pain, trouble breathing or a feeling you might pass out. Call or text 988 for thoughts of harming yourself.³⁶⁷

• Emergency, call 911: chest pain, shortness of breath, a fast or irregular heartbeat that comes with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint, a feeling that you might pass out, or a severe headache.⁶
• Crisis, call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, free and open 24 hours a day), or call 911 if life is in danger. Use this for thoughts of suicide or self-harm.⁷⁸
• See your doctor: you are struggling to cope with stress, or things you are trying are not helping.³
• See your doctor: anxiety is present most of the time and affects your everyday life.⁴
• See your doctor: you feel tired all the time and also nervous, restless or weak, or you are losing weight without trying. Other conditions can cause these.⁵

There are rare reports that some relaxation techniques may cause or worsen symptoms in people with epilepsy, certain psychiatric conditions, or a history of abuse or trauma. If that applies to you, talk with your doctor before you start.²

Never stop or change a medicine on your own. Talk with the doctor who prescribed it. The habits on this page are education. They are not a replacement for your doctor's care.

How can daily rhythm, light and sleep help?

Regular timing helps your body keep its rhythm. Light and dark have the biggest influence on your body clock, while food, stress, activity and temperature also play a part. Adults aged 18 to 60 are advised to get seven or more hours of sleep a night.⁹¹⁰

Think of rhythm as the soil your day grows in. When it stays steady, everything planted in it has a better chance.

The CDC lists these habits for better sleep:¹⁰

• Go to bed and get up at the same time every day.¹⁰
• Keep the bedroom quiet, relaxing and cool.¹⁰
• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bed.¹⁰
• Avoid large meals and alcohol before bedtime.¹⁰
• Avoid caffeine in the afternoon or evening.¹⁰

The CDC also notes that enough sleep can help reduce stress and improve mood.¹⁰ Light is the strongest signal for your body clock, so many people find daylight early in the day a simple, free cue.⁹ If you often feel tired even after enough sleep, or wake many times a night, talk with your doctor. Sleep disorders are common and a doctor can check for them.¹⁰

How can food and blood sugar steadiness affect how calm you feel?

Regular meals, eating without rushing, and watching your caffeine may help you feel steadier. The research linking meal timing to nervous system balance is limited. What is clearer is that large amounts of caffeine can cause jitters and poor sleep, and that low blood sugar can feel a lot like anxiety.¹¹¹²

The FDA cites 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, about two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee, as an amount not generally associated with negative effects in most adults. People vary widely in how sensitive they are.¹¹ Too much caffeine can cause a faster heart rate, palpitations, trouble sleeping, anxiety and jitters.¹¹

Low blood sugar can cause shakiness, sweating, a fast heartbeat, hunger, tiredness, and feeling irritable or anxious.¹² It is often related to diabetes medicines, but other medicines and conditions can cause it in people without diabetes.¹² If you think you have low blood sugar and you do not have diabetes, get medical help right away. Call 911 for confusion, fainting or a seizure. If you take diabetes medicine, follow your doctor’s plan.

Food intake is also one of the things that sets your body clock, so meals at similar times each day can support rhythm.⁹ Dr. Werness also teaches that how you eat matters. In his words, "the body will digest food a whole lot better when you're calm," so he suggests sitting down to eat. That is his professional view, not a research finding cited here.

What is grounding, and what does the research actually say?

Grounding, also called earthing, means touching the earth with bare skin or using a conductive mat or sheet. If a mat plugs into a wall outlet, follow the maker’s instructions and never rig your own connection. Some small studies report better sleep and less pain. The research is limited and mixed, so think of grounding as something that may feel good, not as an established way to regulate your nervous system.¹³¹⁴¹⁵

A 2012 review reported benefits for sleep, pain and stress after grounding. It drew on small studies, including one with 12 people and one with 60, and some outcomes were based on what people reported themselves.¹³ Three of its authors disclosed that they are independent contractors for the company sponsoring earthing research and own a small share of it.¹³

A 2023 review of grounding research noted that grounding setups can be compromised, and that other factors may confuse the results.¹⁴ A controlled study of elite runners wearing grounded shoes found no improvement in running efficiency or in how their bodies responded to exercise.¹⁵

The honest summary is that the evidence is early. If you like walking barefoot on grass, it costs nothing and carries little risk. Watch for sharp objects and wear shoes where the ground is not safe. If you have numbness in your feet, diabetes or any foot injury, keep your shoes on and ask your doctor first.

Which breath and movement habits are easiest to start?

Slow breathing is an easy place to start if you want to know how to calm your nervous system. It takes a few minutes, and many people find it calming. Breathe in gently through your nose, out slowly through your mouth, for at least five minutes. A review of 15 studies in adults without health conditions linked slow breathing with relaxation and lower anxiety.¹⁶¹⁷

The NHS describes a simple version you can do sitting, standing or lying down:¹⁷

1. Let your breath flow deep into your belly without forcing it.¹⁷
2. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.¹⁷
3. Breathe in gently and regularly. You can count from 1 to 5.¹⁷
4. Let it flow out gently, counting 1 to 5 if that helps.¹⁷
5. Repeat for at least five minutes.¹⁷

The NHS says you get the most benefit if you do this regularly, as part of your daily routine.¹⁷ The authors of the 15-study review note that these studies often describe their methods poorly, so more research is needed.¹⁶ The NIH reports preliminary evidence that slow, deep breathing may help reduce stress. It also notes that people occasionally report more anxiety or intrusive thoughts with relaxation techniques. If that happens, stop and talk with your doctor.²

Movement counts too. The CDC reports that physical activity can reduce short-term feelings of anxiety in adults and helps you sleep better. A common goal for adults is 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, such as dancing or yard work, but any amount helps you start.¹⁸

How a consultation with Dr. Werness approaches this

A naturopathic consultation with Dr. Werness is a conversation about your daily rhythm, food, sleep, movement and stress. The aim is education and small, practical habits that fit your life. He works alongside your doctor, not in place of your doctor. No result is promised.

• You talk through what a normal day looks like and where stress shows up for you.
• You choose one or two small habits to try first, such as a sleep time or a five-minute breathing practice.
• Questions about tests and medicines stay with your own doctor.

If you want a starting point, Take the Garden Check-in. If you would like to talk it through, read about a naturopathic consultation with Dr. Maurice Werness, ND, a naturopathic doctor near Durham, North Carolina.

This page is for education. It does not replace advice from your own doctor.