Practical ways to regulate stress, nourish your body, and rebuild calm from within
Is Your Nervous System Asking for a Break?
Hi friends,
Have you ever noticed how your body feels when your mind just won’t stop? That familiar tightness in your shoulders, the shallow breathing, the endless thoughts playing in the background, even when you’re “resting.” It’s not just mental noise. It’s your nervous system quietly asking for a moment of safety.
We live in a world that praises being productive but rarely teaches being peaceful. Yet your body was never designed to stay in survival mode all the time.
This week, let’s slow down and listen to what your body’s been trying to tell you, through breath, minerals, gentle touch, and simple daily pauses that remind your system: You’re safe. You can exhale now.
Together, we’ll learn how to calm your inner alarm, nourish your nerves, and reconnect with that deep sense of ease that’s always been within you.
Before we start, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be releasing our Detox Book soon. Follow us on Instagram for a chance to win a free copy. 🌿
🌿 IN LESS THAN 10 MINUTES WE’LL COVER:
The vagus nerve: your body’s hidden calm switch and how to activate it naturally
The healing science of touch, connection, and why feeling safe with others rewires your body
Foods & minerals that feed your nervous system
Simple ways to detox everyday stressors
Recipe of the week: Lemon turmeric salmon with warm greens
The hidden layers of regulation
Weekly Insight
The Vagus Nerve & The Science of Connection. How Your Body Learns to Feel Safe
Your vagus nerve is the main communicator between your brain and body. It controls your heart rate, digestion, breathing, and emotional regulation. Think of it as your body’s “brake pedal.” When it’s active, your system moves from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.
When your vagus nerve is under active, you may feel anxious, irritable, have trouble sleeping, or experience digestive issues.
But the good news? You can strengthen it, just like a muscle.
Why connection matters
Interestingly, the vagus nerve doesn’t work in isolation. It’s deeply intertwined with oxytocin, the hormone of safety and trust. Every time you experience warm, secure connection, such as a long hug, a shared laugh, even calm eye contact, oxytocin rises and feeds directly into the vagus nerve, strengthening what scientists call “vagal tone.”
This connection between the two systems is why calm isn’t only about being alone or meditating in silence, it’s also about feeling safe with others. Your nervous system learns regulation through what psychologists call co-regulation: your body syncing to the calm energy of another person. That’s why a baby’s heartbeat slows when held against a parent’s chest, or why your own breath deepens when you sit beside someone peaceful.
How to Recognize and Rebuild a Weak Vagus Nerve
If you find yourself easily startled, exhausted but unable to rest, struggling with gut discomfort, or feeling emotionally disconnected, it could be a sign of low vagal tone. Modern stressors such as screen time, noise, lack of real touch, all weaken the nerve’s ability to down-regulate stress. The good news? You can retrain it.
Ways to strengthen vagal tone
Breathing techniques: Deep diaphragmatic breathing, especially with slow, extended exhales (inhale 4 s, exhale 6–8 s). The longer exhale activates the vagus nerve and slows the heart.
Cold exposure: Brief cold therapy, like a splash of cold water on your face or a 20-second cool shower, triggers a vagal response that stabilizes mood and circulation.
Sound & vibration: Humming, chanting “om,” or singing softly stimulates the nerve through the vocal cords and chest cavity. It’s why singing often feels like an emotional release.
Gentle massage: Light pressure around the neck, collarbone, or upper chest relaxes tension where the vagus runs closest to the skin.
Touch & warmth: Physical affection, a pet on your lap, or even self-touch (hand over heart) boosts oxytocin and enhances vagal tone.
Eye contact & still presence: Non-verbal connection with a trusted person: sharing silence, calm breathing, or eye contact, activates the social branch of the vagus nerve, which evolved to detect safety in faces and voices.
In short, your body learns calm through experience, not just intention.
Every exhale, every safe touch, every warm glance is a micro-signal that rewires your biology away from survival and back toward trust. Over time, these small daily activations don’t just make you feel calmer, they literally reshape how your nervous system responds to life.
Science Simplified
Foods & Minerals That Feed Your Nervous System
Your nerves run on minerals literally. Every message your brain sends travels through electrical signals powered by nutrients like magnesium, potassium, sodium, and calcium. When these minerals are low, nerves misfire, leading to tension, anxiety, muscle cramps, or poor sleep.
Key nutrients for a calm nervous system:
Magnesium: Found in spinach, almonds, avocado, cacao, and pumpkin seeds. It helps relax muscles and stabilize mood.
Potassium: Found in bananas, sweet potatoes, and coconut water. It supports nerve conductivity and hydration.
Omega-3 fatty acids: Found in salmon, flaxseed, and walnuts. They strengthen cell membranes and support brain communication.
B vitamins (especially B6 & B12): Found in eggs, chickpeas, and nutritional yeast. They’re crucial for nerve repair and serotonin production.
Tip: If you often feel “wired but tired,” you might benefit from this Calming Magnesium at night, a gentle, highly absorbable form that calms without sedating. Use code HM10 FOR 10% OFF!
Nourishing your nervous system isn’t just about supplements, it’s about consistency. Small, balanced meals with protein, fat, and minerals keep your energy and mood stable throughout the day.
What To Do
Simple Ways to Detox Everyday Stressors
Your nervous system doesn’t only react to major stress, it’s also shaped by hundreds of micro-stressors you barely notice: constant notifications, multitasking, caffeine overload, or even background noise. These hidden triggers keep your body slightly on edge all day, preventing it from entering deep rest.
How to reduce them:
Digital breaks: Silence notifications for at least one hour a day. Check messages intentionally, not reactively.
Caffeine timing: Wait 60–90 minutes after waking before your first coffee. This helps regulate cortisol naturally.
Noise awareness: Spend 10 minutes a day in silence — no podcasts, no music, just breath and stillness.
Evening slowdown: Dim lights and avoid blue screens 1 hour before bed to help your nervous system shift into rest mode.
Recipe Of The Week
Lemon Turmeric Salmon with Warm Greens
🧂Ingredients (2 servings)
For the salmon:
2 wild-caught salmon fillets (4–5 oz each)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp garlic powder
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
Pinch of sea salt and black pepper
For the warm greens:
2 cups baby spinach or kale
½ cup steamed broccoli florets
½ cup cooked quinoa or brown rice
1 tsp sesame oil or olive oil
½ tsp grated ginger
1 tsp soy sauce or tamari (optional)
Instructions
In a bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, zest, turmeric, garlic, salt, and pepper. Brush over salmon and let sit for 10–15 minutes.
Heat a nonstick pan on medium. Sear salmon 4–5 minutes per side, until golden and flaky.
In another pan, heat sesame oil and add ginger. Toss in spinach and broccoli for 1–2 minutes until just wilted. Add a splash of soy sauce if desired.
Place quinoa or rice in a bowl, top with greens, then salmon. Drizzle any leftover lemon-turmeric oil from the pan over the top.
Pro tip: If you prefer plant-based, replace salmon with grilled tempeh or tofu and sprinkle with hemp seeds for a complete amino acid profile.
Bonus Section
The Hidden Layers of Regulation
Your nervous system doesn’t work alone. It’s deeply tied to other systems in your body, especially your gut, hormones, and immune system.
When your body is chronically stressed, cortisol interferes with thyroid function, leading to fatigue or brain fog.
The gut-brain axis means inflammation in the gut can heighten anxiety or make you more reactive.
Chronic over-activation can even affect memory and focus, since your brain deprioritizes cognition when it senses threat.
That’s why regulating your nervous system isn’t just about “feeling calm”, it’s about restoring communication across every system that keeps you alive and resilient.
Did You Know?
How 300 Tiny Stress Hits Sneak Into Your Day
The average person checks their phone over 300 times a day, and each glance triggers a mini cortisol spike.
That’s 300 tiny stress responses your nervous system has to process… often without you realizing it.
Learning to pause, even for 5 deep breaths before checking your screen, helps your body recover from those invisible stress hits, and it’s one of the fastest ways to improve vagal tone.
Article Insights
Key Takeaways
The vagus nerve connects your brain, body, and emotions — it’s your built-in calm system.
Safe connection and gentle touch raise oxytocin, helping your body relax and rebuild trust.
You can strengthen vagal tone through slow breathing, cold water, humming, or massage.
Minerals like magnesium, potassium, and omega-3s keep your nerves stable and balanced.
Reducing micro-stressors, such as caffeine, noise, notifications, helps your system recover.
Calm is learned through daily cues of safety, not through effort or control.
Our Challenge For You
Reader Challenge
Choose at least one small nervous system ritual this week, something that tells your body “you’re safe.”
You could hum softly in the shower, eat a warm meal without screens, or take three deep breaths before checking your phone. Try it for seven days and notice how your body starts to respond.
Question For You
What’s one daily ritual that helps you feel grounded or calm? Hit reply and tell me, I might feature a few in next week’s issue.