11 Ways To Heal And Nourish The Nervous System
Today’s blog is for the “doers”, the “givers”—for those of you who find relaxation to be unproductive and tend to work way beyond 40 hours a week at your job, with your children, around the house, caregiving, listening to friends or family member’s problems or whatever it is that keeps you “on.”
We’re discussing the nervous system and why it is essential to support yours, so you do not become what’s called “sympathetic dominant.” This is a term which refers to someone who is stuck in “fight-or-flight” mode and can’t find their off switch.
Your autonomic nervous system is the unconscious control system of bodily functions like heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, urination, and sexual arousal.
Within this nervous system are two branches: the sympathetic or “fight-or-flight” and the parasympathetic “rest and digest.”
Working, texting, driving, kids, fighting with your spouse, family, or other family members, intense exercise—these all shift us OUT of rest and digest into “fight-or-flight” mode.
The body cannot function properly, let alone heal when it is in “fight-or-flight” mode and studies now show that over 85% of us live this way!
Interesting right?
Moving into a state of rest and digest is pivotal in ALL healing protocols AND a crucial aspect of being able to CHOOSE happiness no matter WHAT is going on in your life.
How Your Nervous System Works
Your nervous system is connected with every part of your physical body.
The human body has two nervous systems; the voluntary nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
The Somatic or Voluntary Nervous System
Our voluntary (or somatic) nervous system is part of the peripheral nervous system which handles bodily movements. The peripheral nervous system connects the brain to motor neurons which control our muscles, glands, and sensory neurons, which are the nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the individual’s environment into internal electrical impulses.
The good news is that because this branch of the nervous system is voluntary, we have control of it and we can use it when we want and rest when we want. A good example is using your arm to wave hello.
The Autonomic Or Involuntary Nervous System
While the somatic nervous system is voluntary, the autonomic nervous system is involuntary, meaning we do not have conscious control of this system—it will happen without us thinking about it.
The autonomic nervous system regulates the function of our internal organs, such as our stomach, lungs, and heart. Essentially, it keeps the show running without us having to do anything, even while we are sleeping.
Within the autonomic nervous system, there are two branches: the sympathetic nervous system (arousing/fight-or-flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (calming/rest-digest-heal).
Both are necessary for regular human function; the sympathetic nervous system provides the body with energy, stimulation, and fuel to take flight from danger.
The parasympathetic nervous system is all about rest and relaxation, which is essential for proper digestion and healthy reproduction.
Sympathetic Nervous System
When there is danger or stimuli, our body senses the danger, moving into a fight-or-flight mode. With this, our adrenal glands are activated, which stimulates the catabolic (breaking down) hormone cortisol. Our breath shortens (to increase O2) and we tense up. Our pupils dilate, our heart rate increases, and epinephrine and norepinephrine, two excitatory chemical messengers in the brain, are secreted. All telltale signs that we are ready to fight (or run away or just freeze in shock).
Parasympathetic Nervous System
The parasympathetic nervous system is where our body is during downtime (or 80% of the time)—the natural state we should be living in when not in danger.
Our heart rate slows down, our breath is calm and relaxed, our digestive system is stimulated and hormones are balanced.
All healing occurs in a parasympathetic state; this includes healthy digestion, detoxification, and cellular regeneration.
This is an important reason why we always recommend not eating on the go or in your car. It is difficult for your digestive tract to work correctly when you're trying to drive a car or walk down the street. When we are in a consistent state of “fight-or-flight,” this can lead to:
- Tired but wired feeling, not sleeping throughout the night, often wide-awake between 1-4am and exhausted upon waking.
- Digestive issues such as constipation and bloating, despite a healthy balanced diet. Stress is one of the most common reasons for constipation and is a focus within all of our programs.
- Premature grey hair is very common in those who experienced high stress due to the death of a loved one or trauma at a young age. These situations can also increase oxidative stress and free-radical production within our body.
- Increased blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels.
- Weight-gain especially around the middle.
- Feelings of not being able to calm down or slow down mentally and physically.
Balancing The Nervous System
While both nervous systems are working simultaneously, there is always one which is more active. Almost like yin and yang, when we have a healthy balance between the two it allows our body to be at ease and able to heal.
We can become sympathetic dominant by working too hard, receiving too much stimulation from phones, computers and technology, over-exercising, or just being too stressed in general.
Someone who is sympathetic dominant usually has a hard time relaxing; they are always working. Our 21st-century lifestyles have set up our nervous systems to be more sympathetic dominant but with some consciousness around it and consistent positive lifestyle and dietary choices, we can support our bodies back into homeostasis.
Remember the feeling you get after a great yoga class or massage?
That is your body finally relaxing—tension and muscle aches have dissolved and you can think more clearly.
These are the telltale signs that your parasympathetic nervous system has taken over.
Besides yoga and massage, here are 11 highly effective things to do to make sure you have a healthy balance between your parasympathetic and sympathetic response.
11 Ways to Balance, Heal And Nourish Your Nervous System
1: Meditation And Breathwork
Five minutes a day of deep breathing through the nose is clinically proven to reduce stress levels and click you in to your parasympathetic nervous system. We recommend starting with the 4-7-8 breath. This involves inhaling through the nose for a count of four, holding for a count of seven, and exhaling through the nose for a count of 8.
Gentle yoga classes and regular breathwork such as alternate nostril breathing can also be fantastic for moving the body out of a stress response.
2: HeartMath
The sympathetic nerves act to accelerate heart rate, while the parasympathetic (including vagus) nerves slow it down. Breathing through your heart can support the parasympathetic nervous system. Heart-focused breathing is about directing your attention to the heart area and breathing a little more deeply than usual. HeartMath has been able to stop panic and anxiety attacks within 5 minutes. You can download the HeartMath app, or pick up the HeartMath device here.
3: Cold Showers
Cold water stimulates our immune system and activates our vagus nerve, which reduces our stress response. This is a nerve that is part of our autonomic nervous system and the nerve that connects the brain and digestive tract. Think of it as the communication highway between your brain and gut.
The vagus nerve regulates our heart rate and our digestive system and how each function.
If our vagus nerve is not working optimally, it can lead to slowed motility in our gut, weight gain, anxiety, high-stress, and nutrient deficiencies. This makes it easy to understand the long-term digestive effects of stress, including irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, and SIBO.
4: Supporting Your Sleep Cycle
Striving for a balanced circadian rhythm is essential for healing and building a strong immune system. When we are sleep-deprived, we have increased levels of stress hormones and poor cognitive health. The majority of us need 8-9 hours of sleep a night, yet the typical American sleeps 4-6 hours a night. Add a lavender diffuser to your bedroom, and be sure to turn off all screens one hour before bedtime. Also make time to watch our Food as Medicine episode on this topic called Understanding Circadian Rhythm and Sleep where we give you practical, food-based ways to do this.
5: Adaptogens
Learn how to strategically use adaptogens such as holy basil, Rhodiola Rosea, ashwagandha, and ginseng to modulate the stress response (and thyroid and immune response) during times of stress. Adaptogens can be very supportive and healing to the adrenals and the nervous system as a whole. Ashwagandha is one of our favorites for those who experience anxiety and spend a lot of time in fight-or-flight. It’s clinically proven to reduce cortisol (our main stress hormone) output and is as effective as anti-anxiety medication within 21 days of use. Be sure to watch our Food as Medicine episode that teaches you how to customize your use of these four adaptogens. It’s called The Top 4 Adaptogens for Natural Stress Recovery and Management.
6: Magnesium, Sodium, and Potassium
Make sure you are taking 400-800mg of magnesium glycinate (taking citrate will exacerbate nervous system issues and cause electrolyte imbalances) daily during times of high stress as well as drinking a natural electrolyte drink with sodium and potassium. Our favorite is GOODONYA hydrate. Also drinking ¼ teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt in three ounces of water before bed helps to regulate melatonin and serotonin, improving sleep and warding off hot flashes and depression.
7: Change Your Relationship with Caffeine
Coffee and caffeine-containing teas can be very stimulating for the nervous system. Choosing less caffeine, changing the time you consume it, or having a caffeine-free tea is a better choice. I love a good cup of coffee, and sometimes I need it more than love it, but when reliance becomes a regular thing, it’s time to pull back a bit. If you’ve been struggling with anxiety, sleep, or digestive problems for any length of time, consider our 10 am coffee challenge.
Most of us don’t give our bodies the breakfast of healthy protein, carbs, and fat we need to feed our cells and produce energy. Instead, we KICK our adrenals with a cup of coffee and force them to secrete cortisol (stress hormone). This locks us into a vicious cycle of “living on stress hormones”. What you do first thing in the am that sets up your hormonal “experience” for the whole day.
We challenge you to WAIT to have your coffee until 10 am and to have it with a small snack containing protein, carbs, and fat and/or to add lion’s mane to your coffee, which is a powerful nerve tonic.
Caffeine increases heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol, and homocysteine. It also stimulates the excretion of stress hormones, which can produce increased levels of anxiety, irritability, muscular tension and pain, indigestion, insomnia, and decreased immunity.
An excess of it leads to anxiety and irritability, mood disturbances associated with excess caffeine consumption, as are depression and attention disorders.
Diabetics and hypoglycemics should avoid caffeine. Caffeine stimulates a temporary surge in blood sugar followed by an overproduction of insulin, causing a blood sugar crash within hours.
If you experience a burning sensation in the stomach after drinking coffee, it may be because coffee increases the secretion of hydrochloric acid. This can lead to an increased risk of ulcers.
The majority of the population has mineral deficiencies. Caffeine inhibits the absorption of some nutrients and causes the urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and trace minerals—all essential elements necessary for good health.
Many people find in their 40s that they can no longer tolerate the same level of caffeine consumption as they could in their 20s and 30s. Production of DHEA, melatonin, and other vital hormones decline, and caffeine speeds up that downhill drop.
And lastly, caffeine consumption exacerbates adrenal exhaustion. All good reasons to choose tea over coffee whenever possible. We love Tulsi Tea because it contains the adaptogen Holy Basil which reduces stress while balancing blood sugar. We also love Pique Teas because they are processed by cold brew crystallization which extracts phytonutrients and antioxidants at maximum potential.
8: Support with Food
A diet which includes healthy servings of fruits and root vegetables can be nourishing to the nervous system. While this transition can take some time, often a few weeks to a few months, it can be very healing to the system. We typically advise against a ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diet if you are experiencing stress or tend to run a bit nervous/anxious. Please watch our Food as Medicine TV episode called The Dangers of the Ketogenic Diet, as well as the show called Using Carbs to Beat Anxiety, and incorporate the healing foods for the adrenals and nervous system listed below.


9: Exercise Smart
Often when we are stressed, we tend to gravitate towards cardio and high-movement activities. While this can be healing for some, many people find this to be too stimulating and taxes their adrenals and nervous system even more. A grounding type exercise such as yoga, walking, or pilates can be very nourishing to a nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight. Remember, stress (and cortisol) is addictive so we often crave what will continue our imbalance, such as running fast or kick-boxing, which might stimulate us vs. engaging in an exercise better suited to downregulate an overactive nervous system.
10: Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been used for millennia to help regulate the nervous system and is used in the treatment of many nervous system diseases. Acupuncture points stimulate the central nervous system, which creates chemicals and energy that encourage a parasympathetic response throughout the body. This turns on your body’s natural healing abilities. Acupuncture works best when you receive treatment on a routine basis—a community clinic is a great and affordable option.
11: Bodywork
Getting bodywork, such as massage, rolfing, abdominal massage, chakra balancing, craniosacral therapy or reflexology are all amazing at turning off your stress hormones and allowing your body to chill so that it can heal—and we often need to somatically release toxic stored emotions, which these modalities allow us to in a graceful way.
These therapies have been known to help release deep trauma and tension which are deep down within the body, and by doing so, the body can start to heal and recover.
Small Changes Lead To Big Payoffs
If you are suffering from an over-stimulated nervous system or taxed adrenals, it is essential to try a few of these recommendations on a regular basis. Through repetition and consistency, we can bring our body back into balance.
Balancing our parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous systems are so essential for healing—it allows us to not only better digest our food but it also improves our experience of life physically and emotionally in untold ways.
Try 3-4 of these to support your nervous system, and let us know in the comments below what modalities relax you.

Take Our Free TAG (Thyroid-Adrenal-Gut) Disorder Quiz To Learn More
Take this free, 3-minute quiz to find out if you’re struggling with the #1 problem most Doctors don’t know about, yet 24,000 research papers link it to symptoms like: Exhaustion, Brain Fog, Weight Gain, Anxiety, Insomnia, Depression, Constipation, Bloating, Food Sensitivities, and more…
Ugh! Wish I would have found your website years ago!
I have been diagnosed and supposedly treated for Chronic Lyme, Fibromyalgia, Myofacial Pain Syndrome, Hypothyroidism and more. I believe it is my nervous system. My gut is not right and hasn’t for apprx 12 years. My belly sloshes, lower pelvic pain that is pretty consistent, new food allergies. I have been to every specialist, tons of supplements, my head is spinning. I found your sight and I believe its nerves from Lyme damage. I believe I will have this forever. I don’t know what to do? Any suggestions, please? I’m now 57 and have lived no life in the past 15 years.
Please email us at [email protected] and we can help you on the journey back to great health! We’re glad you reached out.
It is very helpful for me. Thanks for the great work.
Dear TWJ, I found this article so interesting. Thank you. I suffer from an auto-immune disease – most likely Sjogren’s or Lupus, and certainly a skin version of the lupus which is showing up as lesions and bald patches on my skin. I would so much rather pursue alternative courses than prescribed medicine if I can and try to do all I can with diet and rest and alternative therapies to support it. Can you recommend anything that might help? Thank you.
Hi Polly! We responded to your email 🙂
Long story short 3 years ago I was pre diabetic after being on Prednisone on and off for 5 years prior due to a lung infection. I stopped eating processed food immediately after being told I was pre diabetic, my nervous system is a mess and its my entire body, head to toe, my A1C is at 5.3 and has been between 5.2 and 5.6 for the last 3 years. It was never over 6, I do meditate, accupunture, and am wondering about what your thoughts are on a pemf mat?
Hi Cheryl! Our research shows it is safe for use and may be beneficial. The goal of a PEMF system is to produce a magnetic field that will not only be supportive to the body’s natural functions, but to use a wavelength that will completely penetrate the body. This requires a very long wavelength and low frequency, whereas EMF’S (which are problematic for people) are much shorter and higher frequency.
Thank you for this interesting article. The benefits of tea truly make them a wholesome beverage option! As a tea lover myself, I get all my loose leaf herbal teas from TeaSwan. They have a wonderful selection. Check them out here
https://teaswan.com/pages/wholesale-tea-and-bulk-tea
The information on your website makes so much sense and is very helpful. I feel I was born with a very sensitive nervous system. I am very sensitive to medication side effects, if there is a 1% chance of developing insomnia, I will get it. Last year I took an anti-fungal medication that ruined my life. I had severe insomnia for several months, getting only 2-3 hours of sleep. My memory and ability to learn new things was terrible. I finally started feeling better then got shingles. My doctor said it was due to stress, well of course! And of course the anti-viral medication affected my nervous system again, giving me tachycardia, insomnia, panic and pains. Thank goodness it was not long-lasting, but I am still working on healing my nervous system. Looking forward to reading more articles here. Thank you for all the info and support!
So glad you’ve found our information helpful! We’re here to help – so just let us know if you have questions on anything at all by emailing us at [email protected]
Please send more information on recoding….thx!
Hi Cassandra! You can find out more about the Adrenal ReCode clinical strategy on our website here: http://www.theadrenalrecode.com 🙂
My blood pressure is high and even with drs medication the problems remains.
I will definitely try your suggestions here and report back
Just an FYI after a week long meditation retreat I was able to stop all blood pressure meds!
Hot flashes wake me up every night. They are mild, but since they wake me up they are very troublesome.
I’m taking high doses of bioidentical HRT (estradiol patch and progesterone), but I’d like to get off the medication. Plus it’s still not enough to stop the hot flashes so my sleep gets interrupted each night.
I eat a WFPB diet, I’m taking some supplements to help with cortisol and estrogen (Cortisol Manager and EstroFactors). I’m also taking maca and pomegranate powder after seeing Christa recommend them for balancing hormones.
My hormonal labs look good (cortisol, insulin, etc.).
Any thoughts on how to get a full night’s sleep? I’ve tried the 1/2 banana, 10 cashews, and pink sea salt.
Kristen, Thanks so much for reaching out! Have you checked out our blog all about sleep? You can check it out here: Sleep Blog
Thanks so much! I’ll check it out. 🙂
I wish I could afford your program!
Hi Robyn! Please email our team, [email protected], we would provide some options as well as the mini course! Cheers, -TWJ Clinical Team
This was so helpful! Thank you! I am planning to do the GT5 protocol soon but also struggle with nervous system issues. Will eating more Keto during the diet be okay for my nervous system throughout the program, or is there some adjustments I should make? Thanks!
Hi Ashley! So glad you asked – you will increase your carbs by 10-20% while on Gut Thrive to account for your adrenals and thyroid. Our clinical team will guide you based upon what kind of carb consumption you had coming into the program.
Very useful,hopeful and helpful information!!!! Thank you sooooo much….good for the whole family!!!
You are most welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
I’m curious, Christa. What is your opinion about leafy greens now. Do you still consume them in the amounts that most health seekers do. I’d love to know. I keep going back and forth with them since discovering Josh and Jeanie and of course Dr. Pete.
Hey Isabel,
Yes I’ve remained unchanged in that greens are healthy and full of nutrients in proper amounts of 2 cups cooked or 1 cup raw and no more than two servings per day. 🙂
Hi Christa, Is that a typo about the 1 cup raw and 2 cups cooked greens? In one of your articles on “Getting Your Greens” you wrote that 1 serving was 1 cup *cooked* and 2 cups *raw*. I do really appreciate these FYI’s! Thank you for all that you do<3
thank you very much your information was very helpful 😃