Nervous System Regulation: What is it and why should you care?
A white paper from the Founder of Rē Precision Health.
Isn’t it mind-blowing that in the US 70 million people suffer from chronic sleep issues (1), 25 - 45 million have been diagnosed with IBS (2), over 40 million adults (and increasingly more children) have an anxiety disorder (3) and around 21 million adults deal with chronic depression (4). What do these conditions have in common? They are all linked to a dysregulated nervous system. My personal correlation is that I was diagnosed with them all but do not meet that diagnosis anymore.
If you have no idea what the nervous system does or why you should care, you are not alone. A common question we get from guests in our program is “Why did no-one tell me this before?” Understanding how your software and hardware function is a gamechanger.
In this article, we will explore what the nervous system is, how learning to regulate it can significantly improve your life, the signs of nervous system dysregulation and effective techniques to restore balance.
Understanding the Nervous System
Overview of the Nervous System
The Nervous System
The nervous system is a complex network that controls every aspect of our bodily functions, emotional responses and interactions with the environment. It is your operating system, so we want to make sure that it is programmed effectively (5).
There are two primary components:
Central Nervous System (CNS): This consists of the brain and spinal cord, which process information and coordinate actions.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): This includes all the nerves outside the CNS, responsible for sensory and motor functions.
We can further break down the PNS into:
Somatic Nervous System (SoNS): Responsible for all conscious physical movement.
Autonomic Nervous (ANS): Takes care of important functions like heart rate, blood pressure and digestion without having to consciously think about it.
And, we can further break down the ANS into:
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): the survival response (fight/flight/freeze/fawn).
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS): the recovery response (digestion, healing, relaxation). In Polyvagal Theory (6), we can further breakdown the PSNS into the two branches of the vagus nerve: Ventral Vagal (optimally relaxed/social/connected) and Dorsal Vagal (freeze/shutdown).
All of the above systems are connected and work synergistically to keep you alive. Alive is the key word here. We are hardwired for survival, not happiness or fulfillment—those require additional programming. Understanding this survival response and how your nervous system works to protect you every day can offer profound insight into the confusing symptoms, behaviors, habits, and feelings that may arise, causing frustration.
Signs of Nervous System Dysregulation
A well-regulated nervous system can respond appropriately to different situations. For example, it can mobilize energy to handle a stressor, relax when it’s time to sleep, and connect during social interactions. A healthy system is adaptable and flexible.
The process of allostasis involves activating the SNS to respond to a threat or stress, then transitioning into the PSNS to recover the energy that was mobilized. This process can build resilience. It’s purposefully applied in exercise—athletes push themselves hard during training and then focus on recovery to rebuild muscle and replenish energy, enabling them to train harder the next time.
Nervous system dysregulation occurs when the stress is chronic and recovery doesn’t happen fully, or, in the case of trauma, when there is too much stress too quickly. Allostatic load is the term used to describe the cumulative effect that this process has on physical and mental health.
Common symptoms of a dysregulated nervous system include:
Sleep Issues
Digestive issues
Hormonal imbalance (including infertility)
Brain fog
Emotional reactivity
Tense muscles (particularly shoulders, back, calves, jaw)
Thyroid problems
Anxiety
Depression
Autoimmune Conditions
Fatigue
Since nervous system dysregulation is rampant, you likely have these symptoms or know many people who do. The goal of starting Rē Precision Health was to provide education on the power of nervous system regulation and how it is missing in the current medical model. Understanding your operating system is the first step to self mastery and better quality of life - or in the case of myself and many of our guests - to transform your life completely.
Causes of Nervous System Dysregulation
I like to break down the common causes of nervous system dysregulation into five categories. It is important to address all five because they are very much connected.
Physical: Chronic inflammation,infection, overtraining, injury, sleep deprivation, chemical, heavy metal and mould toxicity.
Mental: Over-working, over-thinking and worrying
Emotional: Unresolved emotional issues (anger, shame, guilt, loneliness, sadness, fear) and PTSD.
Nutritional: Food allergies, deficiencies, inflammatory foods and gut dysbiosis.
Existential: Financial pressure, difficult relationships, feeling lost and not feeling understood.
There is no magic pill, gadget, modality, or ‘Five Top Tips’ that will regulate the nervous system. It requires education, a shift in perspective, and consistency. In the long run, I promise it is worth the effort.
How To Regulate The Nervous System
Our 5-step approach addresses the physical, emotional, and mental factors that influence your well-being. It provides a clear and actionable roadmap to help you break free from chronic stress, optimize your energy, and expand your capacity for growth.
Here’s how it works:
Understand Your Operating System
Process Emotions
Reduce Chronic Stressors
Improve Energy Generation
Program for Expansion
Each step builds upon the last, creating a foundation for lasting transformation. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
1. Understand your operating system
It’s much easier to regulate your nervous system when you can speak its language. Western culture has placed so much emphasis on the mind and overriding the signals of the body, making it difficult at first to reconnect. To have a calm mind, we must first create safety and calm in the body. Here are some important terms you should know:
Interoception: The ability to sense internal signals from your body, such as hunger, thirst, breath rate, sweating, headaches, or the need to use the bathroom.
Exteroception: The ability to perceive signals from the external environment through the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
Neuroception: The process of combining interoception and exteroception to assess safety or detect potential threats in your surroundings.
Neuroception is crucial because it determines whether a signal is sent to mobilize energy to combat a threat or to conserve energy and relax. It’s shaped by every experience you’ve had from conception to the present day and is programmed to protect you—predicting threats to keep you safe. However, that programming can become glitchy, especially after trauma, leading to a threat response when there isn’t an actual threat, such as panic attacks in a grocery store. The good news is that we can reprogram our ability to neurocept by overriding previous programming through neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity is the process of rewiring neural connections, we do it when we learn something new or create new habits. It requires a trigger, followed by repetition of the action, to form a more default connection. This process is more effective through immersive, embodied learning, ideally in a safe environment. We can reprogram the brain’s response to stress and perceived threats, and this is exactly what we do in our Rēset programs.
When a threat is detected, the sympathetic branch of the nervous system (SNS) is activated. Through interoception you may notice the following shifts:
Increase in heart rate & blood pressure
Increase in breathing rate
Muscles tense (ready to fight/run/freeze)
Hunched protection posture
Decrease in digestive juices (while harder to detect directly, it often presents as noticeable discomfort after eating or a lack of appetite)
Increased sweating
Anxiety
By improving interoception, you can pick up more quickly on these signals of shifting into sympathetic activity. The threat response is very helpful when there is a truly dangerous situation. However, the threat response is often activated during conversations with a partner, in traffic, before giving a presentation. In these moments, it helps to be able to pick up on the cues and bring ourselves back into a regulated state. We will go over tools to do this in a moment. In a threat response, the primal brain overrides the regulating activity and executive function of the cerebrum leading to emotionally reactive and unfiltered behavior that we may regret once back in a calm state (we’ve all been there…).
On the other end of the spectrum, the dorsal vagal state—characterized by shutdown, freeze, hypoarousal, and sometimes fawn responses (people-pleasing or self-betraying behaviors)—is another form of protection. It acts as a brace position when there’s no energy left to mobilize, or when fighting or fleeing doesn’t feel possible, so the body conserves energy.
Note: This is a common response to overwhelm in neurodivergent individuals. Additionally, women are more likely to default to freeze or fawn responses rather than fight or flight, which can result in chronic stress and an incomplete stress cycle. Could this be why we see a much higher prevalence of anxiety, insomnia, gut issues, and autoimmune conditions in women?
Common sensations in this state include:
Fatigue
Emotional numbness
Brain fog
Low motivation
Depression
Isolation
Dissociation
Blackouts
Using a car analogy, we can imagine sympathetic activation/hyperarousal as fast acceleration and dorsal vagal/hypoarousal as the emergency brake. Both are necessary but we want to spend time cruising not just oscillating between the two ends of the spectrum. In Polyvagal Theory, the cruising goldilocks state is called Ventral Vagal, we could call it regulated or the recovery state. In this state we can be calm, curious, open to social connection, meditative, playful, creative and joyful. Here is what you can do to reach this state and start making it your default:
Getting out of the mind and into the body can give a truer picture of what is happening in the moment. A body up approach is to improve interoception by tuning into your body’s signals more accurately.
Breathing exercises
Breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system but it can also be consciously controlled. So it is an excellent tool to send signals to the ANS. The SNS (fight/flight/freeze) is connected to the inhale and the PSNS (rest/digest) is connected to the exhale. This means we can use an inhale to be more alert (you do this when you gasp) and an exhale to relax (think of a relaxing sigh).
To shift from hyperarousal (panic/anxiety/anger) to a more regulated state, you can do 1 - 2 breathing which means inhale for one count and exhale for 2. Even just a few breaths can help to send a signal of safety to the ANS and can be the difference between totally losing your sh*t and maintaining your cool. This can save relationships, jobs, make you a better parent and much more. To increase energy you can do the reverse 2 - 1 breathing. A longer inhale followed by a shorter exhale. Generally calming is more necessary than activating.
Create awareness around what state you are in
Identify the cues of hyperarousal, hypoarousal and the regulated state. Investigate what contributes to each state. Can you intervene and shift to a more regulated state? How can you incorporate more of the activities or cues that create a regulated state? For me these are: spending time in nature, cooking, dogs, working out, watching a funny show/movie, dancing, reading with a cup of tea.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a method of measuring a biometric and getting real time feedback to be able to improve that biometric. In our Rēset programs we include both Heart Rate Variability Training and Neurofeedback (qEEG directed) - two types of Biofeedback. I consider Biofeedback an excellent way to improve interoception in order to better understand the body-brain connection.
In the case of Heart Rate Variability, we measure the variance in the gap in between the heart beat. We do this because the Autonomic Nervous System controls the heart beat. Greater variance in HRV (higher HRV) corresponds to a more flexible and adaptable system that has higher vitality.
Neurofeedback measures the electrical activity of the brain (EEG). Through audio and/or visual cues it is possible to optimize brainwave function. Since brainwaves control our thoughts and behaviours, the results can be transformative. On our Rēset programs we run a qEEG Brain Map that measures EEG at 19 different points of the brain then tailor a Neuromeditation protocol based on the results.
2. Emotional Processing
It is rare that any human is taught how to effectively process emotions. Growing up in northern England I was exposed to a culture that mostly suppressed all emotions to avoid showing weakness. What the mind represses the body expresses. Repressed anger, shame and guilt often show up as chronic illness and mystery symptoms. Since these emotions are not rationally stored and end up in implicit memory (more on this later), it is hard to process and release them on a rational level - this is why talk therapy has its limits and why our Rēset participants often feel they release more in a few days vs years of therapy. Here’s how you can start:
Learn to feel
Sounds simple but it is amazing the lengths humans go to in order to suppress feelings and emotions. There is a multi-billion dollar industry built on numbing and distraction - alcohol, junk food, gambling, shopping, porn, social media. Just like learning to tune into the body, can you start to tune into the feelings and emotions that surface? Instead of running away from them, can you ask what they are and where they are coming from?
Having a broader vocabulary of emotion is helpful to be able to better understand the feelings that arise. A feeling wheel is a helpful tool used in therapy to better define the emotion that is arising. Creating awareness of the emotion and expressing it, whether through writing, with a professional or friend can really help to release and process it.
Safety
It is much easier to sit with emotions and feel when the body is calm and neurocepts safety. As mentioned above, neuroception can misinterpret a situation when there is a history of trauma. With practice it is possible to create more safety in the body by reprogramming the neuroception response. A trained professional or co-regulation with someone who feels safe can expedite progress.
The reason I chose to run our Rēset programs in a retreat format is that it offers a unique opportunity to step away from the triggers of everyday life and the environments that may have contributed to dysregulation. By stepping into a carefully designed container of safety—complete with trained professionals, opportunities for coregulation with others, and a supportive space for expression and vulnerability—you can experience a level of support that is rarely found in the real world. Men have the biggest transformations on our programs because they often feel an even bigger pressure to not show weakness or express emotion.
Somatic Processing
Every experience we’ve had is stored in our memory. Explicit memory is conscious and comes with a narrative—though that narrative isn’t always accurate. Implicit memory, on the other hand, is more subconscious, stored in the primitive brain (basal ganglia and cerebellum), and often cannot be put into words—this is where trauma tends to reside.
Somatic processing is a powerful way to release stored emotions and pent-up survival energy (discharged when the sympathetic nervous system activates) without needing to pass through the rational mind, be translated into words, or relive the experience. Some excellent tools include:
TRE® Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises designed to assist the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension and trauma through controlled tremoring.
Breathwork when run by an experienced practitioner can illicit feelings of joy, gratitude, euphoria and provide access into the subconscious mind. This creates an opportunity to release accumulated stress, emotion, and trauma.
3. Reduce chronic stressors
There are many potential sources of chronic stressors. Here are some common culprits:
Inflammatory Food
We all know that highly processed foods are bad for us. That doesn’t stop us from eating it thanks to its addictive nature. In our programs, we focus on an anti-inflammatory diet that removes the main inflammation-causing ingredients: gluten, dairy, refined seed oils (corn, canola, soy, sunflower), refined sugar, corn and soy. We focus on nutrient-dense foods that provide the raw materials needed to produce neurotransmitters and support the essential functions of both the mind and body. You can read more about our Food Principles here.
Every human is unique and may have sensitivities to particular foods, often these are aggravated by a dysregulated nervous system due to the inability to digest effectively. A Functional Nutritionist is a good place to start to investigate this.
Gut Dysfunction
The gut microbiome and the integrity of the gut lining are fundamental to optimum immune system function, digestion and mental health. There is a direct connection between the gut and brain via the vagus nerve. The field of Psychobiotics has proven that particular strains of gut bacteria can increase or reduce the likelihood of anxiety, depression, obesity and other conditions. A damaged gut lining can result in undigested food particles getting into the blood stream which can activate an inflammatory response and potentially cause an autoimmune response. At Rē we implement a three-phase Gut Rēset Protocol, you can read more about it here.
Chronic Infection
Low-level inflammation from infections is a potential cause of nervous system dysregulation. Common infections include Lyme Disease and Epstein Barr Virus. A Functional Medicine doctor literate in these infections can help to treat the virus.
Toxicity
Sadly, we live in an increasingly toxic world, which places an added burden on our body’s detoxification systems. Heavy metals, microplastics, glyphosate (weed killer), mold, and more can wreak havoc on all systems of the body. The first step is to reduce the toxic load by minimizing exposure as much as possible. From there, we focus on improving detoxification pathways through supplementation, sauna use, lymphatic drainage (we utilize a compression suit), and identifying any genetic mutations that may impact detoxification.
4. Improve Energy Generation
It’s incredibly challenging to form new habits and feel excited about life when you have no energy. As we’ve discussed, a burnt-out nervous system can lead to fatigue, but the energy issue goes much deeper. We need to look at the energy factories in our cells—the mitochondria. These mighty organelles were incorporated into our cells two billion years ago, and we can’t survive without them. Through a process called the Krebs Cycle, mitochondria convert food and oxygen into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)—the cellular energy that powers 95% of our metabolic functions. The more mitochondria we have and the better they function, the better we feel. Here’s how you can we boost mitochondrial function:
Reduce chronic stress
Mitochondria are highly vulnerable to damage from oxidative stress, often triggered by elevated stress hormones and stress-induced inflammatory cytokines. Chronic activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disrupts mitochondrial energy production, particularly in brain cells. This stress-induced mitochondrial dysfunction impairs synaptic function, creates neurotransmitter imbalances, and leads to neuronal death, which are key contributors to conditions such as depression, anxiety and neurodegenerative diseases.
Exercise
Incorporating resistance training to build muscle (which is dense in mitochondria), HIIT, and endurance exercise can significantly enhance your energy and overall health. However, if you're in a state of burnout, walking can be a sufficient and effective way to stay active without overtaxing your system.
Photobiomodulation (Red Light Therapy)
Photobiomodulation enhances mitochondrial function by stimulating cytochrome c oxidase activity, improving ATP production, reducing oxidative stress and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular repair through red and near-infrared light absorption.
Cold Thermogenesis
Stimulates mitochondrial function and biogenesis by increasing the production of brown adipose tissue, activating uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), and enhancing oxidative phosphorylation. However, it’s not ideal during a state of burnout, as it acts as a stressor that could further strain the system.
Supplementation
Supplements that improve the process of oxidative phosphorylation (which produces ATP) include:
CoQ10: Essential for the electron transport chain, helping mitochondria produce ATP efficiently.
NAD+ Precursors: Crucial for mitochondrial function and energy production.
Alpha Lipoic Acid: An antioxidant that supports mitochondrial energy production and combats oxidative stress.
Resveratrol: Known for its potential to activate sirtuins, enzymes that promote mitochondrial health and longevity.
PQQ (Pyrroloquinoline Quinone): Supports the growth of new mitochondria and improves overall mitochondrial function.
Magnesium: Vital for ATP synthesis and plays a role in supporting mitochondrial energy production.
These supplements work synergistically to enhance mitochondrial function, leading to better energy production and overall vitality.
5. Program Expansion
Your thoughts are more powerful than any supplement, exercise, and possibly even your genes. What you believe will shape the quality of your life. As we've discussed, we all have a default operating system, shaped by our life experiences. Through neuroplasticity, we can reprogram this system. But first, we need to raise awareness of the current system and identify any glitches that prevent us from living the life we desire. Do you know what you truly want in life? What do you want your days to look like? What do you want to achieve? How do you want to feel? Most people spend little time contemplating these questions—they probably spend more time choosing a car than deciding what kind of life they want to live, often following the playbook handed down by family, society, and education.
Values
We all believe we have values, but do you truly know what they are? How do you want to show up in your relationships, in your work, and most importantly, to yourself? Identifying your core values is key to aligning your actions with your deepest beliefs and creating a life that reflects who you truly are.
Limiting beliefs
Our default programming is often filled with limiting beliefs that restrict our potential. These beliefs are typically formed from our caregivers and early childhood experiences. The first step in reprogramming is awareness—recognizing these beliefs and finding evidence that proves to the brain that they are not true.
Connection and co-regulation
Humans can be both the best and the worst influence on the nervous system. Through co-regulation, a safe and regulated nervous system can positively impact another. The reverse is also true. This is especially crucial for parents and leaders—their nervous system state will influence those around them. Healthy relationships are grounded in co-regulation: the mutual exchange of emotional and physiological stability.
When opportunities for co-regulation are absent during childhood, this loss often manifests in adulthood as difficulty forming secure connections. Trauma can exacerbate this by making co-regulation feel unsafe, disrupting the development of these essential skills. In response, the autonomic nervous system adapts to regulate independently, but this comes at a cost. Many individuals describe longing for connection in childhood yet finding no one safe enough to turn to, eventually ceasing to consciously seek connection.
However, from a polyvagal perspective, the autonomic nervous system continues to need and yearn for co-regulation. Ultimately, the capacity for co-regulation often mirrors our ability to connect with ourselves. The good news is that nervous system regulation—and all the tools discussed in this article—can help improve our connection to both ourselves and others.
Gratitude
You’ve heard it many times before, but it’s true: gratitude can fundamentally shift your brain and operating system. Our brains are constantly bombarded by information from our five senses, and in order to manage this flood, they must filter out what’s most important. The settings on this filter are different for everyone, shaped by every experience you’ve ever had. The brain is always comparing new information to past experiences and predicting future events to keep you safe.
The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is the part of the brain responsible for this filtering process. It's the original algorithm: what you focus on, you’ll notice more of. This is why you suddenly see your car model everywhere or hear your name in a noisy crowd. It operates unconsciously until you make it conscious and choose to focus on what you want to create more of. Gratitude is an excellent place to start.
The brain has a natural negative bias—it’s designed to detect threats, not to make you happy. Therefore, we have to actively work to notice the positive and what’s going well. The more you focus on it, the more you’ll start to see it.
Purpose
Your brain is hardwired to solve problems, even when they don’t exist. So, choose good problems to solve. A key issue in modern society is the expectation of a problem-free life or the absence of meaningful problems to tackle. The problems that give us a sense of purpose are usually those that connect us with others who share a mission and allow us to be of service.
Engaging in hard, meaningful tasks creates wholesome dopamine, boosts self-confidence, enhances self-worth, and fosters long-term contentment. (You can read more about pain/pleasure and neuroadaptation here) These challenges don't just provide short-term satisfaction but contribute to lasting fulfillment and growth.
Final Note
You made it this far, but you'll likely retain only 15% of what you’ve read, and the probability of implementing any of it is low. Why? Because neuroplasticity requires a trigger—ideally, a strong emotional trigger followed by motivation and repetition to solidify the neural connections.
That’s why we created our Rēset programs. There’s no shortage of information in the world, but there is a shortage of action, human connection, and the bandwidth to combine all of the above while managing everyday life. If you take one thing from this article, make it cultivating awareness. Awareness of what your body is telling you, awareness of the inputs you’re receiving—whether from food, media, or ideas—and awareness that you have the capacity to reprogram your operating system to create more freedom and joy.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only not a substitute for medical treatment nor is it intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any illness or medical condition.
References
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3. Vinkers, C., Kuzminskaite, E., Lamers, F., Giltay, E., & Penninx, B. (2021). An integrated approach to understand biological stress system dysregulation across depressive and anxiety disorders. Journal of affective disorders, 283, 139-146 .
4. Hassamal, S. (2023). Chronic stress, neuroinflammation, and depression: an overview of pathophysiological mechanisms and emerging anti-inflammatories. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14.
5. Neuroanatomy Of The Nervous System: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542195/
6. Porges, S. (2007). The Polyvagal Perspective. Biological Psychology, 74, 116-143.