How to Regulate Your Nervous System
Your nervous system is the command center of your body. It’s responsible for everything from how you respond to stress, process emotions, digest food, sleep, and even feel joy. For mothers, it’s especially critical. Between the micro-stressors of daily life, hormonal shifts postpartum, and the constant physical and emotional demands of raising children, your nervous system can easily get dysregulated.
Learning how to regulate your nervous system isn’t just a wellness trend; it’s a survival skill, a self-care ritual, and a foundation for mental and physical health.
In this post, I’ll break down what your nervous system is, the ways motherhood can throw it off, and practical, science-backed ways to restore balance.
How to Regulate Your Nervous System
Understanding your nervous system is step one. When you know how it works, you’ll see why practices like breathing exercises, gentle movement, and restorative sleep actually help. Regulating your nervous system helps manage stress and anxiety, improve heart rate variability, and maintain physical health, all while keeping you more present, patient, and grounded with your children (and partner).
The beauty is that small daily interventions, even 3–5 minutes, can make a huge difference over time. This isn’t about perfect wellness routines; it’s about consistent practices that help your body activate the parasympathetic nervous system and promote relaxation.
What Is The Nervous System?
Your nervous system is an intricate communication network made up of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) and all the nerves branching throughout your body (peripheral nervous system). It controls everything from reflexes and movement to digestion, sleep, and emotional responses.
Think of it as your inner manager, constantly deciding whether you should fight, flee, or rest. When it’s balanced, you can handle stress more efficiently, sleep better, and even digest food properly. When it’s dysregulated, your heart rate spikes, digestion stalls, sleep suffers, and you feel perpetually on edge.
What Does The Nervous System Do?
Your nervous system has two main branches, each playing a key role in how you respond to life’s ups and downs:
Sympathetic nervous system – the “gas pedal.” It kicks in for fight-or-flight, raising your heart rate, mobilizing energy, and sharpening alertness when stress hits.
Parasympathetic nervous system – the “brake.” It promotes rest and digest, slows your heart rate, and helps you relax and recover.
Motherhood has a way of keeping the gas pedal pressed. Late-night feedings, sudden tantrums, and toddler meltdowns keep your sympathetic system constantly engaged. Recognizing how these two branches work together helps explain why even small stressors can feel like too much.
What Causes A Dysregulated Nervous System
Postpartum Hormonal Shifts
Pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding trigger massive hormonal fluctuations that directly impact your nervous system. After delivery, levels of estrogen and progesterone drop rapidly, which can heighten stress reactivity and influence neurotransmitter balance—think serotonin and GABA, chemicals responsible for mood regulation and calming your nervous system. Meanwhile, prolactin and oxytocin, elevated for milk production and bonding, interact with your autonomic nervous system, sometimes leaving you hyper-alert, irritable, or anxious. This complex hormonal interplay can explain why sleep disruptions, emotional swings, and postpartum anxiety or insomnia are so common.
Tip: Gentle movement like yoga, light walking, or stretching help restore balance. Pair this with vagal toning techniques, such as humming, soft singing, or gentle neck stretches, to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system. For a deeper dive, check out my post on hormone optimization.
Sleep Deprivation
Interrupted nights and fragmented sleep prevent the parasympathetic nervous system from fully engaging, leaving your body in a near-constant fight-or-flight state. Sleep deprivation reduces prefrontal cortex function, impairing decision-making, emotional regulation, and stress resilience. It also increases cortisol, keeping your heart rate elevated and digestion sluggish. Over time, chronic sleep disruption dysregulates neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, amplifying mood swings, anxiety, and irritability.
Tips: Prioritize restorative sleep whenever possible. Even short bouts of deep sleep, like a 90-minute nap, can help restore system balance. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and screen-free.
Magnesium-rich foods (almonds, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate) or supplements like magnesium glycinate in the evening support relaxation and improved sleep quality.
Wellness Tools: Devices like Pulsetto, HRV monitors (Whoop, Oura, Apple Watch), or guided sleep meditations from brain.fm cue your nervous system into calm, while giving insight into your stress and recovery patterns.
Chronic Stress & Micro-Interruptions
From back-to-back school runs and meal prep to diaper changes and endless to-do lists, the life of a mother is full of micro-stressors. Each small stressor triggers your sympathetic nervous system, and repeated activation trains your body to remain in a hyper-alert state. Over time, this can elevate baseline cortisol levels, reduce parasympathetic engagement, and contribute to tension headaches, digestive issues, and heightened emotional reactivity.
Tips: Incorporate micro-meditations throughout the day. Even 1–3 minutes of slow, deep breathing, grounding by pressing your feet into the floor, or brief journaling can reset the nervous system.
Movement-based “microdosing” (calf raises while brushing teeth, 10 push-ups during diaper changes, or yoga stretches while nursing) also supports neuroplasticity, retrains stress responses, and boosts endorphins.
Apps like Insight Timer or Calm guide these short sessions.
Physical Trauma or Injury
Physical trauma from birth-related injuries, accidents, or chronic musculoskeletal tension can disrupt nerve signaling and impair communication between the brain and body. Misalignment, scar tissue, or repetitive strain from carrying a heavy toddler or sitting at a desk all day can keep your sympathetic nervous system engaged, preventing full rest-and-digest activation and leaving you more sensitive to stress. Even less obvious issues like chronic postural strain or an unresolved adult tongue tie can maintain a subtle fight-or-flight baseline.
Tip: Gentle physical therapy, craniosacral therapy, massage, or somatic therapies (TRE, Qi Gong) help restore nervous system regulation. Movement practices that focus on breath and alignment, like yoga or pilates, encourage parasympathetic activation and repair.
Viral Illness & Nervous System Effects
Illnesses—viral or otherwise—can trigger neuroinflammation, affecting both central and peripheral nervous system function. Moms recovering from illness may notice fatigue, brain fog, or heightened reactivity.
Harvard Health notes that inflammation from viral illness can disrupt autonomic nervous system balance, leaving you in a hyper-alert state long after the infection clears.
Tips: Anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, blueberries, walnuts, and leafy greens support nervous system recovery.
Probiotic-rich foods or fermented vegetables can further support the gut-brain connection and vagal tone.
Gentle movement, mindfulness, and consistent sleep also reduce inflammation.
Sensory Overload
Babies, toddlers, and children are loud, messy, and unpredictable. Your nervous system reacts to theirs through a phenomenon called co-regulation. Sensory overload keeps your sympathetic nervous system engaged, increasing heart rate and stress hormones, and can make even small frustrations feel overwhelming.
Tip: Build daily sensory breaks for everyone, including yourself. Creating intentional quiet moments, like reading together, taking walks in nature, dimming lights, or playing calming music helps activate parasympathetic response.
Mind-body therapies, such as somatic experiencing or gentle yoga, also help regulate overstimulation.
How To Get Your Nervous System Regulated
Breathing Exercises & Vagal Toning
Intentional breathwork is one of the fastest ways to shift your nervous system. Slow, deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system and stimulates the vagus nerve.
Tips: Try box breathing: inhale 4 counts, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. Repeat 3–5 minutes during stressful moments like tantrums or nap transitions.
Additional methods to try are alternate nostril breathing, humming, or gentle chanting improve HRV, reduce anxiety, and promote parasympathetic dominance. Even 3–5 minutes during stressful toddler moments can make a noticeable difference. Explore resources from Wim Hof Method or James Nestor for advanced techniques.
Mindful Movement
Microdosing movement (brief, intentional bouts multiple times a day) boosts parasympathetic tone and keeps your body resilient to daily stressors. Yoga, gentle stretches, or short walks in nature recalibrate the nervous system.
Examples: Sun salutations, pelvic floor stretches, barefoot grounding, or a quick dance while making dinner. Movement retrains the nervous system, reduces muscle tension, and improves neuroplasticity.
Digital Detox & Nervous System “Fast”
A digital fast isn’t just about reducing screen time, it’s about giving your nervous system a structured break. Mom life is full of digital notifications, messages, managing scheduling, helping with online homework, and researching recipes until 2 am, all keeping the sympathetic nervous system activated.
Practice: Schedule 1–2 hours a day completely device-free. This intentional “fast” lowers cortisol, improves sleep, and boosts emotional regulation.
Tip: Start small by drinking your morning coffee without your phone, a walk outside without notifications, or an evening wind-down hour with a book. Even incremental digital detoxes send your nervous system a clear signal: it’s safe to rest.
Sleep Optimization
Sleep is the ultimate nervous system reset. Consistent, restorative sleep allows the brain and body to process stress, consolidate memory, repair tissue, and regulate hormones. Poor sleep impairs vagal tone, decreases serotonin, and increases cortisol, making the nervous system more reactive to daily stressors.
Tips: Focus on small sleep wins: a 90-minute nap, a consistent bedtime, and a screen-free pre-bedtime routine.
Include magnesium-rich foods or supplements (almonds, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, magnesium glycinate), limit caffeine late in the day, and create a cool, dark, quiet sleep environment.
Gut-Brain Connection
The gut is your second brain, with direct communication to the vagus nerve. Nutrition and gut health play a key role in regulating mood, stress response, and overall nervous system resilience. Prioritize foods and nutrients that directly support your nervous system:
Magnesium: Spinach, almonds, black beans
B vitamins: Eggs, salmon, lentils
Omega-3s: Fatty fish, chia seeds, walnuts
Antioxidants: Blueberries, dark chocolate, broccoli
Fermented foods: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir
Bone broth: Supports gut lining and neurotransmitter production
Probiotics: Can be dietary or supplemental, supporting gut flora balance
Hydration is critical! Water and herbal teas, like chamomile or lemon balm, promote rest and digest and support nervous system regulation.
Tip: Pair mindful eating with these foods and chew slowly, savor the flavors, and notice how your body responds. Gut health and nervous system regulation are intimately connected, and simple dietary shifts can have noticeable effects on mood and stress tolerance.
Adaptogens & Nervous System Support
Science-backed herbs and fungi, known as adaptogens, are having a moment for their ability to support stress resilience and balance the nervous system. These include:
Ashwagandha: May reduce cortisol and support restful sleep
Rhodiola: Helps buffer stress and fatigue
Holy Basil: Supports calm and mental clarity
Reishi Mushrooms: Promote relaxation and immune support
Adaptogens are easy to incorporate into daily routines through teas, tinctures, or powdered blends in smoothies or oatmeal.
Tip: Pair adaptogens with micro-movement, mindful breathing, or a short meditation to maximize nervous system benefits. Even a 3–5 minute ritual can make a measurable difference.
A note of caution: Always check with your healthcare provider if you are postpartum or breastfeeding, as some adaptogens can impact hormone levels.
Cold or Sensory Exposure
Cold showers or splashes of cold water on your face can shift your autonomic nervous system, improving stress resilience and alertness, then promoting parasympathetic activation afterward.
Tip: Even 30 seconds of controlled exposure can increase alertness and activate parasympathetic response afterward.
Mind-Body Therapies
Beyond nutrition and movement, specialized mind-body practices are gaining traction:
Somatic Experiencing: Focuses on releasing trauma held in the body
TRE (Tension & Trauma Release Exercises): Uses gentle tremors to discharge stress
Qi Gong: Combines mindful movement with breath and energy awareness
These practices help process both chronic stress and postpartum trauma, providing tools to reset the nervous system without needing hours of uninterrupted time.
Tip: Even 10 minutes of TRE before bed or a short Qi Gong flow in the morning can calm the sympathetic nervous system and promote parasympathetic dominance.
Social Connection & Co-Regulation
Positive interactions with friends, partners, or supportive moms release oxytocin, naturally activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
Tip: Share parenting wins, vent safely, or laugh together. Co-regulation is real—you calm your nervous system while helping someone else regulate theirs.
Biofeedback & Wearable Wellness
Biofeedback tools go beyond HRV tracking, offering real-time insight into your body’s stress signals:
HRV trackers – Whoop, Oura, or Apple Watch give a snapshot of stress and recovery.
Muscle tension & relaxation cues – apps like Inner Balance by HeartMath provide simple prompts to release tension.
These devices help moms identify triggers and train their nervous system actively, making stress regulation more tangible.
Tip: Use a wearable during predictable stressful moments, such as morning routines, diaper changes, or work calls, to notice patterns and implement micro-resets like deep breathing, humming, or short stretches. Over time, your nervous system learns to respond more efficiently—chaos included.
From Surviving to Thriving
Motherhood is intense, beautiful, and sometimes overwhelming. Your nervous system is listening to every moment, every micro-stressor, every argument, every late night. By learning how to regulate it, you can respond to life with more patience, presence, and resilience, while modeling healthy regulation for your children.
Integrating practices like breathing exercises, mindful movement, restorative sleep, nutrient-rich meals, micro-meditations, digital boundaries, and co-regulation helps shift your nervous system back into balance. Pair that with awareness of postpartum shifts, recovery, sensory overload, and physical stressors, and you have a roadmap for thriving—not just surviving—as a mom.