Your nervous system is your internal warning system, constantly working in the background and making subconscious decisions before your conscious mind can catch up. It continuously scans your environment for cues of danger or safety and it triggers a physical response to them before you have had a chance to think.

The autonomic nervous system explained

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), which is the part of your system responsible for these activations, consists of the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The two most relevant parts we will focus on in this blog are the sympathetic and parasympathetic.

When your sympathetic nervous system is in action, that means your fight or flight response has been activated. The analogy often given to explain your sympathetic nervous system is when you come face-to-face with a bear, this is the part of your system that tells you to fight it or run away.

When this part of the system is activated your body instantly diverts energy from your digestive system and other areas of your body towards your heart, muscles and lungs to give you the energy and resources required to fight or flee. In this state, cortisol and adrenaline are released into the body to help fuel that response.

In contrast, the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the rest and digest state. This is where the nervous system signals that it is safe and the body can relax. In this phase the energy returns to the digestive system, your heart rate slows and begins to restore and repair.

An important point here is that it is not a bad thing to be in sympathetic state, it is actually a sign of a healthy, responsive nervous system. The problem is when you get stuck there.

What happens when the nervous system becomes dysregulated?

Nervous system dysregulation refers to the nervous system becoming stuck in sympathetic activation and struggling to return to the parasympathetic state.

This can be caused by many different factors including poor emotional regulation, exposure to long-term stress, poor diet or nutrition, excessive use of stimulants (including caffeine), poor sleep and even excessive use of your smart phone.

When the nervous system doesn’t get enough time in a parasympathetic state, the body starts to show it. The digestive system is often impacted because when we are in sympathetic activation, energy is diverted away from digestion.

Common Symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system

If your sympathetic nervous system has been activated for too long, you might notice some of these signs:

• Persistent tension in your neck, shoulder or jaw (including teeth clenching)

• Feeling overwhelmed, even by small things

• Feelings anxious or constantly on alert

• Disrupted sleep: difficult falling asleep, staying asleep or waking unrefreshed

• Digestive issues such as bloating, constipation or unsettled stomach

• Heart palpitations, dizziness or low energy.

How is nervous system regulation different to stress management?

The main focus of Stress Management is on mindset and finding actions you can take to manage and reduce stress in the moment..

Nervous system regulation goes deeper than that, it involves body based (somatic) practices, emotional regulation, pattern recognition and mindset work.

The goal of nervous system regulation is to build your resilience to enable you to return to the parasympathetic state more easily and quickly after your exposure to the stress has passed.

The concept of your window of tolerance is important here. Your window of tolerance refers to how much stress you can experience while still being able to return to balance. The wider your window of tolerance, the greater your capacity to handle stress without becoming dysregulated.

Nervous System regulation practices increase the window of tolerance and over time, enabling you to experience higher levels of stress and be able to return to a calm, regulated state easily when the stress is over.

Why is it important to regulate my nervous system?

Research shows that long-term exposure to stress can put your physical and mental health at risk. There are a few reasons for this, the first is that long-term exposure to cortisol and adrenaline can impact your body’s natural processes.

When adrenaline is released, this increases your heart rate to ensure blood gets to where it is needed, prolonged release of adrenaline can impact your heart rate and blood pressure.

Cortisol is released in sympathetic activation to give a surge of energy, cortisol impacts blood sugar levels impacting metabolism. Cortisol also slows other bodily functions therefore causing disruption with hormones, the digestive system and the immune system. You can read more about how stress impacts the digestive system here.

The brain staying in a heightened state of alert can also contribute to anxiety, depression and burnout.

When energy is diverted away from the digestive system, this can cause issues with digestion of food and metabolism and can cause weight gain. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a common symptom of people experiencing chronic stress.

Is stress the only thing that can dysregulate my nervous system?

Stress isn’t the only thing that dysregulates a nervous system. The nervous system responds to perceived threats, so continual exposure to perceived threats is what dysregulates the nervous system.

These perceived threats are often formed through childhood experiences (in particular adverse childhood experiences), chronic illness/pain, hormonal changes, chronic sleep deprivation, lifestyle factors (including poor diet, excessive caffeine or alcohol and excessive use of smart phone), unresolved emotional distress and heavy workload.

Often a big event can trigger a stress response, and then even minor stressors can add to that load. These big life events can be both positive or negative, the impact on our nervous system is the same, these events might include:

• Illness

• Death of a loved one

• Marriage, separation or divorce

• Financial issues

• Moving to a new hours

• Having a baby

• Retiring

If you have a big life event that you know is coming up (such as moving house, changing job, getting married), it is advisable to start micro nervous system regulation practices such as breath work to start building your window of tolerance in advance.

What does a regulated nervous system feel like?

When your nervous system is regulated, you are likely to be more responsive than reactive.

When faced with a stressful situation, you will have the capacity to consider your response before responding, you will return to calm quickly once the stressful situation has passed.

If the stressful situation is prolonged, someone with a regulated nervous system will find they are able to concentrate on other things and focus when needed without the stressor taking over their life. They may find that they don’t think too far into the future, or ruminate over past conversations, both of which can trigger anxious and negative thoughts.

With a regulated nervous system you will find you have deeper and meaningful connections with others, and feel socially engaged and safe with those you choose to spend time with.

The overriding feelings of a regulated nervous system are presence, grounded and connected.

How to start regulating your nervous system

The easiest way to get started with regulating your nervous system is through learning a few breathing techniques, these are simple to learn and can be used anywhere without any equipment.

The Physiological Sigh

This is like a “forced” deep breath. It helps you signal safety to your nervous system by activating the vagus nerve, which calms the system.

1. Take a deep breath in through your nose

2. Without exhaling take another breath in through your nose

3. Take a long slow exhale through the mouth - like a long sigh

4. Repeat this 1-3 times and feel your body relax with each exhale.

4-7-8 Breathing

Similar to the physiological sigh, the 4-7-8 breath works by focussing on the long exhale, activates the vagus nerve, while the counting brings the mind to focus on the breath, grounding you in the present moment.

1. Take a deep breath in through your nose to a count of 4

2. Hold your breath for a count of 7

3. Take a long, slow exhale for a count of 8

4. Repeat the cycle 4 or more times

Movement

Movement can help the body expel the cortisol and adrenaline built up with the sympathetic system was activated, ending that stress cycle. Choose a movement that feels good to you in that moment, it could be a walk, stretch, run or just shaking your body.

Sleep

While it sounds easier said than done to recommend sleep when that is often the first thing to go during stressful times, good sleep can really help widen your window of tolerance. During stressful times, prioritise your sleep hygiene as much as possible, get early night, keep off blue screens before bed, reduce caffeine and stimulants and properly unwind before sleep. For more tips, my Sleep Calm Guide offers a nervous system, nutrition and mindset approach to sleep.

How long does it take to regulate your nervous system?

Regulating your nervous system is not something you can do overnight, it takes consistency and patience to build your window of tolerance.

However, if you are in the moment feeling stressed or anxious and want a quick way to calm down, it is possible to send a signal of safety to your body through breathwork. The 4-7-8 breath is particularly effective for this, or even simpler, focussing your attention on a longer out-breath. This works well if your mind is racing when you go to bed and can’t sleep.

For longer-term nervous system regulation, it is not just about the practices you do to calm your system but learning to recognise your patterns and triggers and building a plan that works for you. This speed at which you can do this depends on how to approach it, for some people they can get to a balanced state in a month, for others it can take several months. But nervous system regulation is an ongoing practice and the key to it really is to learn your body’s cues and responses to enable you to take the action you need to maintain balance in the moment.

Regulating your nervous system is one of the best things you can do for your physical and mental health, not only do you increase your window of tolerance, and balance your system, but it can also reconnect you with your body so that you can understand the cues your body sends when it is moving out of balance.

If you want to find out how regulated your nervous system is, take my free quiz.