Having a daily routine that includes tools to regulate your nervous system is important for your overall health and well-being and is crucial to achieve any nutrition and health goals that you may have. The benefits are far too many to count including improved overall gut health (the ability to digest food and nutrients better), reduced anxiety and stress, improved mood, improved mental and emotional well-being, improved sleep, and increased energy. Scroll all the way to the bottom for some advanced targeted supplements to help with managing stress!

1. Go for long Zone 1 or zone 2 cardio Walks

Walking for just 15-20 minutes daily can help release endorphins to promote a balanced and recalibrated nervous system. Think of walking, or regular muscle contractions, as a way to process your blood glucose or blood sugar levels essentially where your muscle soaks it up as fuel to power your walk. Bonus points if you get some form of movement involving muscle contractions (push ups, squats, walking) every 30 minutes in the day for 2-5 minutes (think of them as “exercise snacks”) instead of having one long walk in the evening.

Zone 1 heart rate (lower intensity exercise): % of your maximum heart rate (HRmax) important for mitochondrial health

Zone 2 heart rate (lower intensity exercise): % of your maximum heart rate (HRmax): important for mitochondrial health

2. Take a warm and end on Cold Shower using a filtered shower head

You don’t need to spend the whole shower under freezing cold water. If you’re a female and care about your hormone health, it’s best to skip the ice cold plunge and opt for a warm then end on cold shower. The method to do this is to begin your shower with warm water and end on cold for the last 1-3 minutes. Make sure to end with cold and allow the water to hit the front and back of your neck, where part of the vagus nerve is located, for about 1-3 minutes. The way to do this is to slowly turn the knob to lukewarm cold then during the last two minutes to the lowest cold temperature possible, make sure to ease into it to not immediately activate your sympathetic nervous system. During the last part of your shower, you may also choose to focus on your breathing using the breath work method below. Using this method, after you leave the shower you should feel refreshed as if you just went swimming for an hour.

3. Nourish and Support Your Gut microbiome health

• Explanation of the gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve
• The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
• link to 5R Treatment Protocol here for gut health imbalances
• link to How to: GI Map Stool Test here
• Rebalance the gut and overall health with sleep to regulate the gut-brain axis, diet to support a healthy gut microbiome, exercise to improve gut motility, and stress management techniques to maintain a balanced and diverse gut microbiome using the tools in this blog post.

4. Head into the Sauna

Not only is sweating a great tool for nervous system regulation, it’s also a great way to support your detoxification pathways from toxins such as BPA, BPS, and heavy metals. Your kidneys and liver do a great job of doing this naturally, however in this day and age with the enormous amount of toxins present in daily life, your body needs all the extra detoxification support it can get. Aim for a 15-20 minute sauna session 2-3 times per week to help activate heat shock proteins (HSPs) which play a role in cellular repair as well as faster muscle recovery and repair.

5. Focus on your Breathing

Diaphragmatic Breathing aka abdominal breathing: not only does this help support the nervous system, it also helps with digestion. The simplest method is to make sure you exhale longer than you inhale in order to activate the parasympathetic nervous system also known as the “rest and digest” state. Make sure to constantly check in with yourself and your heart rate through out the day — repeat when necessary.

The Physiological Sigh: one deep inhale, immediately followed by another sharp inhale, and a long, slow, sighing exhale for five minutes.

6. Meditate into a more relaxed state of being

This can be a walking meditation or any form of meditation that involves checking in with yourself by slowing down your heart rate.

7. Journal it out to gain some clarity

Journaling can provide clarity and a sense of control in your life leading to a regulated nervous system. You don’t need a physical pen and paper to do this. Using your notes app is a simple and easy way to get your thoughts directly from your mind to an outside medium.

8. Aromatherapy using a Diffuser

Essential oils like lavender, chamomile, and frankincense can have calming effects. Use a diffuser or inhale the scents to promote relaxation. After my nightly shower, I like to put on a tiny amount of Full Spectrum Lavender CBD Hemp Balm behind both of my ears and neck area to help me relax into sleep mode.

9. Lying down on the floor for five to ten minutes

In a way, this could be a way of grounding yourself to the earth, the floor, the carpet, or whatever is beneath you. Benefits of lying down on the floor include decompressing your spine after a long day, releasing any tension in your body, and allowing your body to slip into it’s parasympathetic state or rest and digest state. I call this floor time or corpse pose in yoga. Since the position is different than what I’m used to seeing all day, it allows my brain to focus on different ways of viewing a certain situation or problem.

10. Invest in a Lockbox for your phone

Just lock it for a couple of hours if you need some peace of mind or to recenter yourself. Your nervous system will thank you. Delete the apps, mute all notifications, lock your phone, put your phone on DND — everything and everyone can wait. Connect with God.

11. Connect with God

Once you understand that nothing is ever in your hands and everything is within God’s hands, you learn to rely on something greater than yourself. You willingly and lovingly surrender™ to whatever God wants for you which is the best outcome possible. Having full trust and surrendering to a higher power allows you to have moments of pure bliss. Keep your heart close to God.

يا حي يا قيوم برحمتك أستغيث ، أصلح لي شأني كله ، ولا تكلني إلى نفسي طرفة عين
“O The Ever Living The Sustainer, I seek assistance through your mercy, rectify all of my affairs for me and don’t entrust me to myself even for the blink of an eye.”

12. Consume Caffeinated drinks after protein + fiber rich meals or balance it out with some water and Apple cider vinegar

One thing about me, I will never give up my caffeine intake completely. My caffeine of choice is a sweetened latte with honey. If you are a caffeine junkie, try to consume it after meals that include some sort of highly bioavailable source of protein as well as fiber. A health tip for any sweetened beverage, dessert, or heavy carb option is to dilute a tablespoon of raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar into 8 ounces of filtered water. Consume before and/or after caffeinated beverage, dessert, or carb heavy meals to help with digestion and stable blood sugar leading to smoother energy levels.

Targeted Supplements to help with managing stress

1. Phosphatidylserine: recommended dosage is 100-200 mg daily or during times when cortisol peaks in the evening to help reduce levels. You can view your cortisol patterns mapped out throughout the day by viewing your DUTCH test results. To learn more about DUTCH testing for hormones click here.
2. Cortisol Manager: contains Ashwagandha and Phosphatidylserine.
3. Magnesium Glycinate: in the evening to support relaxation and optimal sleep.
4. Cortisol Calm: contains Ashwagandha (adaptogen for stress) and L-theanine.
5. L-Theanine: to support relaxation and restful sleep.

Make sure to order from a high quality and third party tested brand instead of purchasing from Amazon where practically anyone can sell anything without any rigorous testing. To make it easier for you, you may order from my supplement dispensary below through Fullscript’s catalog where each brand and product meets strict top quality standards. You can learn more about third party testing here.

My supplement dispensary is linked here (with a 30% off discount!) and you do not need to be a client to place an order.

Experiment with different methods and techniques to find out what works best for you.

Combining several different tools into your daily routine can provide better holistic support for your nervous system. Ideally, you will want these tools to be enjoyable in order to maintain consistency so tailor these practices to your individual preferences and needs for optimal effectiveness.