No matter what time of the year it is, life can feel overwhelming.
Between workplace pressures, family responsibilities, and global happenings, our nervous system absorbs everything.
Additionally, we’re bombarded with reminders to stay productive, maintain fitness regimens, and preserve social connections—all while sustaining meditation habits and ensuring children receive probiotics.
Sometimes declaring “enough is enough” becomes necessary.
Everyone has breaking points, and reaching them isn’t difficult given current circumstances. Forcing ourselves to function on empty carries serious repercussions, whether immediate or eventual.
The encouraging news? Small, straightforward practices can integrate rest, renewal, and resilience directly into our daily routines.
Our nervous systems require these pauses just as urgently as staying hydrated, using restrooms, and securing adequate nightly sleep. These aren’t indulgences. They’re necessities.
What follows are excellent strategies for meeting your nervous system’s needs, regardless of external circumstances.
Add Some Weight
Among my preferred methods for calming my system involves incorporating weight.
Weight delivers proprioceptive input to the brain, which can create calming and organizing effects on the central nervous system. We typically receive proprioceptive input through everyday activities like carrying backpacks, pushing lawn mowers, or chewing gum.
Proprioceptive input also finds formal application in physical and occupational therapy for treating conditions ranging from injuries to autism to cerebral palsy.
Numerous methods exist for providing yourself proprioceptive input and helping nerves settle down.
Weight Training
Simply lifting weights offers a direct method for obtaining proprioceptive input while simultaneously exercising.
One study of Olympic weightlifters demonstrated that lifting could enhance proprioceptive feedback. Another study indicates that weightlifting may strengthen body awareness, or kinesthesia.
Starting a weightlifting routine doesn’t necessarily require extensive equipment.
You might discover suitable items around your house or garden shed (consider soil bags). Without weighted objects, resistance bands work too.
Another approach focuses on bodyweight exercises, eliminating equipment needs entirely.
Naturally, always prioritize safety and consult your doctor before launching a new exercise program.
Weighted Blankets, Vests, and Pillows
For gentler weight-based system calming, various weighted accessories are available.
Weighted blankets provide a comfortable option for receiving deep pressure, which research suggests may help decrease heart rate in adolescents during molar extraction.
Abundant weighted blanket options exist, including versions designed for children.
Evidence also indicates that weighted vests may positively influence attention and impulse control in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Weighted pillows or pads represent another option for applying weight to specific body areas. You can position them on shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, or wherever your body most requires pressure.
Options include products that microwave-heat, contain calming scents, or even take the form of weighted stuffed animals.
Cuddle Up to a Loved One
Beyond weight training and weighted products, traditional cuddling with someone you love can similarly provide comforting weight.
Cuddling releases endorphins and oxytocin, commonly called the “love hormone.” The more time spent as the “little spoon,” the greater sense of calm you’ll likely experience.
Shake It Off
You may have observed dogs shaking themselves following close encounters with less-than-friendly canines.
According to Dr. Peter Levine in his book “Waking the Tiger,” animals engage in shaking to discharge trauma from their bodies. Levine also developed somatic experiencing, a body-based therapy for processing and releasing trauma.
Challenging experiences, including trauma, can accumulate energy in the nervous system. Some evidence suggests that shaking can help release it.
This is also called therapeutic or neurogenic tremoring. It’s a technique employed in tension and trauma therapeutic release exercises, or TRE, created by Dr. David Berceli.
Heat It Up
Many people have experienced soothing effects from warm embraces or hot baths.
Hot baths may help decrease inflammation and regulate blood sugar. Evidence also indicates that saunas may boost endorphins.
You can customize your bath to your preferences and requirements. To create a complete sensory experience and incorporate healing herbs, consider a bath tea or homemade bubble bath.
One 2018 study suggested that simple heating pads helped decrease anxiety and distress in women undergoing cystoscopy, or the insertion of a camera into the urethra and bladder.
Options include electric plug-in pads or microwave-safe packs.
Try a Tracking Exercise
Another approach for settling nerves and quieting the mind involves trying a tracking exercise.
Tracking represents another somatic experiencing technique that can help you feel more present and grounded.
Try it:
- Sit comfortably and take a few breaths to relax.
- When ready, begin to slowly look around the room and allow your gaze to land on various objects.
- When it does so, name the object out loud.
- If you find an object that particularly appeals to you, linger on it for a while.
- Repeat until you feel calm and ready to stop.
This exercise may appear remarkably simple—and it is.
By directing attention toward your external environment, particularly pleasant surroundings, you’re signaling to your nervous system that everything’s okay.
Nourish Yourself with Fat
Seriously. The brain and nervous system thrive on fat.
Nerve cells are encased in a protective layer called myelin. Evidence suggests that consuming fat can help maintain that protective layer’s health by preventing demyelination, or myelin erosion.
Consider eating healthy fats as literally cushioning your nervous system.
Healthy fats include those comprising the Mediterranean diet, like avocado, nuts, and fatty fish. Ghee, or clarified butter, also represents an excellent choice for incorporating healthy fat into your diet.
You can even locate medicated ghee containing herbs specifically targeting nervous system health or prepare your own.
Be certain to consult a qualified herbalist before adding herbs to your health regimen.
Create Space for Spaciousness
One highly underappreciated yet powerful practice for giving the nervous system a break involves simply doing exactly that: taking a break.
Many of us maintain busy schedules without much available time for genuine breaks. Even when opportunities arise, we often choose filling space with favorite Netflix shows, friend phone calls, or scrolling social feeds.
While nothing’s inherently wrong with these activities, the nervous system genuinely craves space and silence.
Every activity carries some stimulation. Truly granting our nerves a break means providing minimal stimulation possible while maximizing rest and renewal.
For low-stimulation activities, try:
- sitting meditation
- walking meditation
- body scan
- yoga nidra
- forest bathing
- float therapy
- doodling
- crafting
- listening to music
- gardening
Lower the Volume
When we consciously choose granting our nervous systems breaks, we give our entire system an opportunity to recalibrate.
A healthy nervous system can lead to enhanced immunity, greater resilience, and heightened well-being.
By reducing unnecessary stimuli and increasing the activities above, we can ensure our nerves stay healthy regardless of surrounding circumstances.
