When you regulate your nervous system, you are bringing its complex communication network back into balance after stress has thrown it out of sync.
Clinically reviewed by Rachael D. Wallace, LCSW-C.
As most people are well-aware, when faced with a stressful situation, your body quickly reacts. Our bodies have a built-in mechanism that responds to any perceived threats to our well-being, often known as the fight-flight-freeze response. In an instant, the brain signals the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls things like breathing, heart rate and digestion. This system tells one of its two main parts, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), to spring into action by releasing adrenaline and cortisol, giving you extra energy to respond to the stressor. Your muscles tense up, your heart rate rises, digestion slows and your breathing becomes rapid and shallow.
Once the stressful event is over, your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is supposed to kick in (this is the other part of the ANS), and its job is to calm your body’s stress response. But what if it doesn’t? A lingering stress response can be a sign of a dysregulated nervous system. Learning how an out-of-sync system can harm your health, and how you can regulate your nervous system with some healthy, calming practices can significantly improve your quality of life.
What Is a Dysregulated Nervous System, and Why Does It Matter?
Before exploring how to regulate your nervous system, it’s essential to understand why to do it in the first place.
A dysregulated nervous system occurs when the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are out of balance, essentially creating a state of chronic stress. Stress hormones may stay elevated, keeping you in a perpetual state of alert. Some people may also find themselves going back and forth between fight-flight-freeze mode to feeling drained of energy.
Long-term stress can have wide-ranging impacts on health, including:
- An increased risk of heart attack and high blood pressure
- Heartburn
- Reproductive problems, including irregular periods for women or erectile dysfunction for men
- Stomach pain or digestive issues
- Tense muscles, which can lead to back pain and headaches
- Worsening breathing problems for people with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Worsening symptoms for people with digestive or other chronic diseases
- Obesity
Taking steps to calm the nervous system, which is known as nervous system regulation, can help protect your health.
Symptoms of a Dysregulated Nervous System
Your body may offer clues that you need to regulate your nervous system. Consider these related signs or changes, especially when several occur together:
- Difficulty sleeping
- Digestive problems
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Frequent anxiety
- Inability to relax
- Irritability
- Mood swings
- Muscle tension
- Rapid heart rate
- Weight gain/obesity
- Weight loss/disinterest in food
- Trouble concentrating
- Fatigue
Start Calming Today: 5 Ways to Regulate Your Nervous System
Regulating your nervous system means calming your body’s stress response and restoring balance. Getting the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems back in sync takes time. Maintaining an awareness of what your body is telling you is important, and patience and persistence are key. You want to consciously intervene on your body’s unconscious processes.
Here are five practices that can help you fix a dysregulated nervous system.
1. Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing involves breathing slowly and deeply. Also known as deep breathing, this technique can relax your muscles and slow your heart rate. It’s a quick and straightforward way to help calm your nervous system. Here’s how to do it:
- Sit in a chair or lie flat on your back with your knees bent.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Take a deep breath in through your nose so the hand on your stomach rises.
- Exhale through pursed lips while keeping your stomach muscles tight. The hand on your stomach will return to its original position.
- Repeat for five minutes.
2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Tense muscles are common with chronic stress. You might notice them even right now by taking a quick scan of your body. Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique that involves tightening and relaxing muscle groups throughout your body. Over time, you can improve your ability to relax your muscles more deeply.
Starting with your head, slowly tense and relax your major muscle groups. Hold tension in each group for 10 seconds and breathe deeply, then release. Work down your body, finishing with your toes.
3. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of grounding yourself in the present moment. It trains you to become more aware of your thoughts, feelings and body in order to manage your stress response by minimizing automatic reactions. The focus is on your thoughts and on what you see, hear, smell and feel around you. This technique supports the parasympathetic nervous system to do its calming work.
Mindfulness takes many forms. In addition to meditation, you can be mindful while practicing deep breathing, taking a walk, bird-watching, listening to music, creating art or knitting a scarf.
4. Physical Activity
Physical exercise and movement release endorphins and can help reduce stress hormones. You don’t have to go for a run or play tennis to help balance your nervous system. Even something as low-key as stretching or taking a walk can be helpful. Consciously getting more movement into your day can also be achieved by deliberately parking further away from a destination or taking the steps instead of the elevator.
Consider combining exercise with time in nature to benefit your nervous system and mental health. According to the American Heart Association a 90-minute walk in a local park can help calm the part of your brain that contributes to negative thoughts. Connecting with nature is particularly helpful. Did you know that listening to birds has a significant effect? From an evolutionary perspective, hearing birds singing signals that the environment is safe.
5. Healthy Eating
Like the rest of your body, your nervous system needs good fuel to function well. Ensure your diet includes a balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and healthy fats, such as unsaturated fats.
Your brain is the nervous system’s nerve center, and specific nutrients provide fuel at a cellular level. To stay healthy, it needs omega-3 fatty acids that can be found in salmon, mackerel, walnuts and flaxseed. B vitamins are also important and can be found in beans, chicken, eggs and leafy greens.
How to Regulate Your Nervous System: Key Takeaways
You may not be able to control how your nervous system responds to stress. However, you can help protect it or rebalance it should it get out of sync.
Some key points about nervous system regulation:
- A dysregulated nervous system occurs when your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems become imbalanced, prolonging the stress response.
- Nervous system dysregulation can cause a wide range of physical and emotional symptoms, from mood swings and trouble concentrating to a rapid heart rate and sleep disruption or fatigue.
- There are many ways to regulate your nervous system, including exercising and practicing deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation.