How to Calm Your Nervous System: Simple Hacks That Actually Work

Feel like you’re stuck in a constant loop of anxiety, exhaustion, brain fog, and total detachment? It’s not just due to a lack of sleep or one too many Cosmopolitans the night before—it’s a sign you need to calm your nervous system. 

When your nervous system is dysregulated, your whole body feels it. After all, it does control your stress response, digestion, sleep, immune function, sensory perception, and memory. When it’s out of balance, your fight-or-flight response is in go mode 24/7—something Dear Gabby explores in the episode “Reset Your Nervous System.” And that kind of sympathetic overdrive isn’t something a nap and a bubble bath will fix.

There are so many reasons you could be dealing with nervous system dysregulation. Maybe, as The Bossticks discuss in “Toxins in Your Home Exposed,” your environment is just… off. Or maybe, like in Well with Arielle Lorre’s episode about gut health and inflammation, your digestive system is totally out of whack.

Regardless, you want answers—and we’re here to give ‘em to you. In this post, we’re sharing a practical guide on calming your nervous system. We’ll talk about why a regulated nervous system is important, what dysregulation can feel like, and what you can do to restore balance. Relax your jaw and drop those shoulders—relief is right around the corner. 

How to Calm Your Nervous System: Simple Hacks That Actually Work

If you’re dealing with symptoms like anxiety, burnout, insomnia, and inflammation, chances are, you’re silently navigating nervous system dysregulation. And here’s why it feels so hard to tackle: you may be chasing symptom relief—not addressing the root cause. No shame there, a lot of people don’t realize that they need a total nervous system reset. 

But it seriously matters. Regulation improves everything from emotional stability and immune resilience to better focus and mental clarity. Remember, though: this isn’t about eliminating stress. You can be on your nervous system A-game and still feel overwhelmed. It’s about building a system that can return to balance—again and again.

That’s why we’re here! Through science-backed tips, functional tools, and, naturally, podcast episodes like “Lauryn Bosstick on Nervous System Regulation Practices & Building Routines to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed,” we’ve come totally prepared. Let’s talk regulation.

How Is the Nervous System Connected to the Other Systems?

Your nervous system is like your body’s central communication hub, playing a key role in things like blood pressure, temperature, hormone production, and immune function. A big part of this comes down to the balance between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous system. Let’s get science-ey and break it down.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) functions as your fight-or-flight system. Whenever it assumes you’re in danger, the pupils dilate, heart rate increases, breathing speeds up—cue the panic attacks. The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), on the other hand, functions as your rest-and-digest system, promoting relaxation, lowering heart rate, and stimulating digestion.

The SNS and PNS aren’t the only factors that matter here—if only the body were that simple. The vagus nerve, a main component of the parasympathetic nervous system, is what regulates all those involuntary functions you don’t think about moment-to-moment. Heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breathing—it acts as the bridge between the brain and your organs. 

You thought we were done? Think again. The nervous system also works closely with the endocrine system through the HPA axis, which regulates cortisol release. You’re probably thinking: Sooo… why is that important? Cortisol is your main stress hormone. Increase that, and your nervous system will feel all over the place. 

Chronic stress = constantly activated sympathetic nervous system. The Bossticks episode, “Deepak Chopra on How to Cultivate Inner Peace, Achieve Genuine Happiness, & Heal Your Nervous System,” explains this concept perfectly. If you let stress hijack your brain, it’ll impact your gut health, hormone regulation, and overall well-being. It can feel like your body’s working against you, but it’s really just begging for a little relief.

What Does a Calm Nervous System Feel Like?

Having a calm nervous system doesn’t mean you won’t get stressed, overwhelmed, or burnt out. It just means that your body knows how to handle it more effectively without sending you spiraling. Here are a few key examples that indicate your nervous system is calm, cool, and collected:

• Slower, steady breathing
• Warm hands and feet
• Stable heart rate
• Clear thinking
• Emotional flexibility
• Restorative sleep
• Healthy digestion

In other words, when your nervous system is regulated, your body isn’t on high alert, constantly bracing for impact. Think: less fight-or-flight—more rest-and-digest. Interested in learning more? Hear more about what a calm, regulated nervous system looks like in “How to Release Trauma Trapped in Your Body with Somatic Healing” from Dear Gabby. 

What Causes a Dysregulated Nervous System?

Chronic Psychological Stress

You could probably guess that chronic psychological distress negatively impacts the nervous system. If you’re constantly on edge, your body’s always waiting for what’s next—in the worst way. When this happens, you’re never truly activating your parasympathetic nervous system; you’re just… teetering on the edge of fight-or-flight. 

We’ll be the ones to tell you, because we always keep it real: this can totally be self-inflicted. DEFINITELY not always… but sometimes. Caroline Baudino actually covers this in “Are You Subconsciously a Drama Addict? Trauma-Bonding Truths Revealed” on Coming In Hot. 

Trauma and Unresolved Emotional Stress

If you’re dealing with unresolved trauma and emotional stress, of course, your nervous system will feel it. Irritability, anxiety, emotional numbness, a feeling of detachment—it’s all so common with unaddressed trauma… and an overactive nervous system.

The Art of Being Well covers this in “Parent Wounds, Trauma Healing, & Psychedelic-Breathwork.” Dr. Will Cole dives deep into how trauma can pop up all across your life—in ways you may not even realize.

Poor Sleep

If you’re experiencing too many late nights and early mornings, eye bags aren’t your only concern. Poor sleep directly influences your nervous system. Each time you get those beautiful 8 hours of rest, your body shifts to the parasympathetic nervous system. Cut off the amount of time your body gets to make that reset happen, and… you know the rest. 

If we’re being super specific, sleep deprivation increases amygdala activity—the part of your brain responsible for emotional processing and fear detection. That means you’ll always be on guard and always perceive your environment as a threat.

Craving more restful sleep, but don’t know how to get it? Listen to “Your Ultimate Beauty Sleep Guide with Guest Editor Siff Haider” from Breaking Beauty! Here’s a hint: you don’t need melatonin.

Blood Sugar Instability

Think of your blood sugar as your body’s fuel gauge. When it’s stable, your brain and nervous system have the energy they need to function properly. But when blood sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day, that’s a direct red flag to your nervous system.  

Those huge waves in energy release cortisol and adrenaline—two key hormones in the fight-or-flight response—in an effort to boost glucose levels. And when you come down from that boost, you’re left feeling anxious, exhausted, and totally defeated.

There’s no better episode to listen to than “The Glucose Goddess Jessie Inchauspé on the Truth About Blood Sugar, Energy, & Managing Cravings.” You’ll learn all about helpful health and wellness hacks, like healthy fats, weight lifting, and protein intake—and why they matter.

Overstimulation From Technology

There is such a thing as technology overstimulation, and it’s definitely impacting your nervous system. In a world where everything exists on a screen—books, TV shows, movies, grocery lists, games, ads—it’s hard to escape it. However, it IS important to limit it. 

Our phones are FULL of dopamine stimulation. Instagram rewards us with likes, TikTok rewards us with comments, and games reward us with prizes. That constant stream of micro-rewards keeps our brains in a loop, craving more, naturally leading to an overstimulated nervous system.

Leave it to The Bossticks to have the PERFECT episode for the occasion. Tune into “Jonathan Haidt: How Phone Addiction & Social Media Are Making Us Nervous – And What to Do About It.”

Caffeine Overuse

Another thing we probably don’t have to remind you of: caffeine keeps you wired. Staying wired keeps your nervous system on guard. We’re sure you can see the domino effect here. But it’s a little more complicated than that. 

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, the neuromodulator in your brain that regulates sleep, blood flow, and immune response. This means that the more coffee you enjoy, the more you’re preventing your brain from realizing it’s tired. And we discussed earlier how important proper sleep is to your nervous system. 

The more your body remains stimulated, the more often it increases adrenaline and cortisol—and the more your nervous system panics. Check out “Feel Like Your Best Self with Natural Hacks From a Pharmacist” to learn how to kick that caffeine habit.

Chronic Inflammation

Chronic inflammation places the body in 24/7 internal stress. When the immune system is constantly active, whether from poor diet, chronic illness, or ongoing stress, the nervous system receives never-ending signals that something’s “wrong.” And remember that HPA axis we talked about earlier? It keeps that active, too. 

If you stay in that state too long, you’re essentially training your nervous system to stay on high alert. The Wellness Process has a super encouraging episode related to this, titled “How to Finally, Genuinely Feel Good in Your Body with Katie Sturino.” We HIGHLYrecommend it.

Hormonal Imbalance

There are SOOO many things that can trigger hormonal imbalances, so we get this isn’t an easy thing to “fix.” That said, it’s definitely worth looking into. Think of hormones and the nervous system like besties, working together to regulate mood, energy levels, metabolism, and sleep. 

When your hormones are imbalanced, your stress response can become more sensitive. Elevated cortisol leads to overstimulation, low estrogen reduces serotonin, and high or low thyroid hormone levels can lead to relentless fatigue.

Listen to Treated with Dr. Sara Szal to learn about all of the biomarkers you should always keep an eye on. 

Signs of a Dysregulated Nervous System

Physical Signs

A dysregulated nervous system doesn’t always show up mentally or emotionally. You can experience a ton of symptoms that indicate your nervous system needs a little R&R, including:

• Tight jaw
• Digestive issues
• Frequent headaches
• Shallow breathing
• Heart palpitations
• Muscle tension
• Poor sleep
• Temperature irregularities

We’re gonna provide actionable, practical tips below to help you regulate your nervous system. But for now? Know this: Take advantage of your daily affirmations for anxiety (and actually use them!). Practice deep breathing. Treat yourself to a massage! And keep reading.

Emotional Signs

Constantly feel like you could scream, cry, and laugh all at the same time? That isn’t just a chaotic Tuesday—it could be your nervous system begging for a little attention. Here are a handful of emotional signals your dysregulated nervous system might be sending you: 

• Constant irritability
• Always feeling overwhelmed
• Panicked all the time for no reason
• Emotional detachment or numbness
• Uncontrollable anger
• Difficulty shaking off negative emotions
• Feeling overwhelmed by small things

Don’t get us wrong—you should definitely be in tune with your emotions. In fact, “Cry Your Way to Health” from Coming in Hot raised a good point: crying is a legit nervous-system reliever. It’s when you can’t control the emotions that you need to start looking a little deeper.

Behavioral Signs

We all have those days when our behavior’s off and our excuse is something like, “I just don’t feel like myself.” Too many of those days is your nervous system’s way of silently telling you that something’s off. If you’re not sure what to look out for, here are a few behavioral signs that indicate a dysregulated nervous system:

• Procrastination (here are daily affirmations for motivation!)
• Social withdrawal
• Hyper-productivity, then a crash
• Impulsitivity
• Restlessness
• Loss of appetite
• Brain fog
• Clumsiness

You can’t just treat the symptoms. Getting more sleep, cutting back on caffeine, and eating a balanced diet are great, sure. But like The Wellness Process says, that attention needs to be directed to the ROOT cause. Learn more in the episode, “Healing Beyond the System: Detox Pathways, the Nervous System, & Root-Cause Medicine with Dr. Jessica Peatross.”

How to Regulate Nervous System

Doing everything right and still feel like nothing’s working? We get it. That’s exactly why we’ve put together this list of tips for regulating your nervous system. Whether you’re battling moment-of-anxiety or chronic high-stress fatigue, we’re breaking these hacks down by category so you can know exactly what to do—and when to do it.

Fast Acting Techniques for Immediate Calm

These tips are for the moments you feel like you need a cool-down, like… now. Anxiety comes at unexpected times, but it doesn’t have to totally derail your day. Here’s exactly what to do.

• Box Breathing. Simple to do wherever you are, you’re gonna inhale, hold, exhale, hold, repeat. Do each step for 4 seconds, and repeat as many times as you need. It’s a practice used by the Navy SEALs to stay calm, so you know it works.

• Physiological Sigh Breathing. Take one deep, long breath through your nose. Before you exhale, take a second shorter breath. Your lungs may feel like they’re gonna pop—that’s the point. Slowly “sigh” out of your mouth, repeating 1–3 times. It’s one of the quickest ways to reduce anxiety and arousal.

• 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Method. We all know and love this one—it’s a nervous system regulation classic. Just identify 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. This sensory-based mindfulness tool helps you return to the present.

• Cold Water Face Immersion. Ever splashed your face with cold water in the morning to “wake up?” It doesn’t just reduce facial puffiness—it causes the parasympathetic nervous system to kick into gear. Just fill up a bowl with water and ice, hold your breath, and submerge your face for 15–30 seconds.

• Humming: We know, it sounds too simple. But it’s not! The vibrations from humming stimulate the vagus nerve, shifting your body into a rest-and-digest state. It’s known as Bhramari Pranayama, and it truly works.

While you’re at it, we highly recommend checking out “Relaxing Podcasts to Help You De-Stress.” These recs are perfect regardless of what you’re going through.

Daily Habits That Strengthen Nervous System Regulation

Moment-of-nervous-system-regulation tricks are helpful, but that shouldn’t be all you’re prioritizing. Here are a few daily habits that strengthen your nervous system, slowly bringing you back to balance:

• Morning Sunlight Exposure. Within 30–60 minutes of waking up, get some sunlight. This early-day boost triggers the body’s natural internal clock, signaling that it’s time to stop producing melatonin and start waking up. This is FANTASTIC for mood stability and preventing late-day cortisol increases. Listen to Miranda Kerr talk about her morning sunlight ritual HERE!

• Consistent Sleep Schedule. If your sleep is scattered, your melatonin levels and circadian rhythm will be, too. Research even shows that a steady sleep schedule reduces stress on the brain, clearing neurotoxins and minimizing sympathetic nervous system spikes.

• Protein-Rich Breakfast. That “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” saying isn’t just a cliché. Fuel up with protein in the morning to prevent blood sugar instability later. More specifically, this helps keep cortisol levels lower and reduces midday burnout.

• Moderate Movement. Movement is everything for nervous system regulation. And it doesn’t have to be HIIT workouts or hitting new PRs. Walking, dancing, and yoga increase blood flow to the brain, lowering cortisol and stimulating endorphins.

• Reducing Caffeine Intake. You knew this was coming. It’s time to cut back on caffeine. Low doses can help you focus—too much can tell the nervous system to release adrenaline. Stick to one cup a day and avoid drinking caffeinated beverages in the afternoon.

• Limiting Late-Night Screen Exposure. Blue light is awful for melatonin—it tricks the brain into thinking that it’s daytime, delaying sleep even further. Put any screens away 1–2 hours before bedtime, and read spicy books with a good plot instead!

Somatic Practices for Deeper Regulation

If you’ve never heard of somatic practices, now’s the time to get acquainted. These movement-based, mind-body techniques focus on internal body awareness. So, getting out of your head and into your body—like Note to Self discussed recently! Here are the best somatic practices for deeper nervous system regulation:

• Body Scanning. Lie down, close your eyes, and mentally scan each body part—from your toes to your head. The goal is to notice the sensations you feel and sit with them rather than fix them. It brings you back to the present, helping regulate the nervous system.

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation. Lie down and intentionally create gentle tension in a group of muscles. For example, tighten your legs, core, or shoulders. Hold that tension for 5–10 seconds, and release while exhaling. Do this from your toes to your head, resting for 20 seconds between each muscle group. This trains the body to recognize and release tension over time—no more clenched jaw or squeezed shoulders during high-stress periods!

• Trauma-Informed Shaking Exercises. There’s a reason we shake when we’re anxious—and it’s not cortisol surges. It’s an involuntary stress-discharge mechanism! With this practice, you’ll intentionally shake or vibrate your body, interrupting the fight-or-flight response as the sympathetic nervous system kicks in!

• Gentle Yoga and Slow Stretching. These movements are all about how you feel. Slow yoga and stretching help develop body awareness, releasing unconsciously held tension caused by nervous system dysregulation. Over time, this calms the nervous system and fosters deep relaxation.

• Bilateral Stimulation. This rhythmic, somatic practice engages both hemispheres of the brain, helping you feel present and grounded. Do things like tapping your shoulders alternately, alternating knee tapping, or swimming. This self-soothing technique is fantastic for reducing anxiety and dissociation. Learn more about bilateral stimulation in THIS episode of The Art of Being Well!

Nervous System Reset Strategies During High-Stress Periods

Want an even blend of daily practices and moment-of-anxiety relief techniques? You got it. Below, we’ll talk about all things nervous system reset strategies. While you’re reading, listen to Shannon Ford from Probably a Podcast talk about how you can’t “think” your way out of panic—and why the right techniques are essential.

• Reduce Stimulation. We’ve got a million and one things on our plates, and self-care? Not usually one of them. If you have too much going on, the informational output WAY exceeds what your brain can process. Reduce stimulation by deep breathing, dimming the lights, turning off screens, and practicing gentle movements. 

• Schedule Recovery Days. Your body doesn’t just need rest; it deserves it. Schedule AT LEAST one day a week where you treat yourself. Get a massage, book a mani pedi, read books about what women want and how to get it—treat it as a “you” day. This prevents chronic overstimulation and reduces fatigue, setting your nervous system up for success.

• Increase Magnesium-Rich Foods. Magnesium is SO important for regulating neurotransmitters. More specifically, it boosts GABA (the calming neurotransmitter) and reduces cortisol. Think: nuts, seeds, leafy greens, legumes, whole grains, and, yes, dark chocolate. Eat up, and your nervous system will thank you for it. “Magnesium Benefits, Regulating Your Nervous System, & Bouncing Back After Burnout” goes SUPER in-depth about this exact topic.

• Breathwork Before Sleep. Slow, deep breathing is essentially an “off-switch” for stress hormones, lowering the heart rate and reducing cortisol levels. Doing this before bed activates the vagus nerve, reducing tension and shifting the body into a rest-and-digest state. AKA, you get better, more restful sleep.

With the right techniques, it’s totally possible to calm your nervous system—both in the moment and over time.

There are SO many indications that your nervous system needs a little love and affection. Maybe it’s persistent irritability, or maybe it’s constantly feeling drained even after you do the work. Regardless, you don’t have to stay in that uncomfortable state forever. With the right tips, tricks, and techniques, you can calm your nervous system and feel like “you” again—for good this time. 

Craving more life-changing advice like this? We offer SO much more over on the Dear Media blog. And, of course, our incredible Dear Media podcast hosts offer treasure troves of advice for all things health, wellness, and restoration. Also, don’t forget to treat yourself at the Dear Media Shop! You’re in the process of regulating your nervous system—you deserve it.