Sometimes the world just seems a little bit crazy. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by work, homelife, the state of the planet, and the constant stimulation via the multiple devices we surround ourselves with.
Our nervous systems weren’t designed to be in such a constant state of arousal but rather to flex and flow through their different states. In this week’s blog, we look at how we can regulate our nervous systems through nutrition and lifestyle interventions, so that we maintain a healthy balance and avoid that all too familiar “frazzled” feeling.
We want to be connected to world, enjoying all it has to offer, revelling in our relationships with the people around us, feeling fulfilled and in the flow of life. Yet all too often we experience the opposite, feeling like it’s all too much. We become ‘out of sorts’, stressed or even depressed. It’s as if we’ve lost our way and our relationship with the world is off balance. It feels at odds with us and we’re no longer at one with it.
What’s the role of the nervous system?
We are designed to sense and respond to the world around us. We’re a conduit for it all, hardwired to notice and process it. The body’s built in ‘wiring’ is the nervous system, with multiple nerve cells (neurons) communicating information from outside to inside. This mass of information feeds our ‘central processor’, the brain, resulting in seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, even sensing our position.
The brain builds an internal experience of our external world and what we think or feel about it. It’s busy interpreting, deciding, planning, and instigating actions in response. It’s a hugely complex process that enables us to adapt and survive to whatever life throws at us, changing our physiological response, making us flexible and resilient.
The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system response
The brain increases or ‘upregulates’ our nervous system activity when needed (called ‘sympathetic response’), perhaps at times of greater life stress, boosting our desire to act, heart rate, blood sugar and breathing. It then ‘downregulates’ or dials it down when rest, relaxation and recovery are required (‘parasympathetic response’).
We need both states of course, because stress can be a positive (called ‘eustress’), forming those enjoyable challenging activities in our life. We also need that vital ability to ride the storm of the difficult daily challenges. But we also need ample downtime to chill, as ultimately having a balance of nervous activity is important to both mental and physical health.
Are we really more stressed these days?
Stress has been a part of life since the dawn of mankind. Essentially, we have evolved a primal ‘fear’ response to protect us from danger. Anything in our environment we perceive as a threat triggers a part of the brain called the amygdala, our built-in alarm system. This fires up an excitatory neurotransmitter called glutamate to activate our sympathetic response, causing the adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline and cortisol (our principal stress hormones), boosting energy and circulation, enabling us to act in self-preservation.
This basic response is the foundation of our modern stress response in all its forms. It doesn’t have to be physical danger, and in the modern world this same response may be triggered by our thoughts, worries, a feeling of being out of control, overstimulation, overwhelm from multiple demands, even physical changes like infection or low blood glucose. Arguably, as life becomes more complex, and more machine and device orientated, our sense of stress from some of these things has increased.
In a sense, it doesn’t really matter if we are more stressed these days or not. What matters is we think we are, and that will cause the exact same response.
What are neurotransmitters?
Neurotransmitters are chemicals our neurons use to communicate with each other, enabling our nervous system response. We have a range of neurotransmitters that have specific roles in different parts of the brain, and that can combine in multiple ways, resulting in a wide range of experiences and responses.
Serotonin
Serotonin is generally our ‘feelgood’ neurotransmitter, activated when our life appears to be giving us what we need, but levels can drop during certain negative life changes, such as loss or bereavement, resulting in a sense of low mood, perhaps even depression.
Dopamine
Dopamine creates a desire to act or seek novelty, which can result in good levels of energy, drive and motivation, but also in some situations, addictive behaviours such as food/ substance addiction or gambling.
GABA
GABA is our chill-out neurotransmitter, facilitating a sense of calm, feeling at ease with the world, countering stress, enabling recovery, relaxation and sleep. Low GABA level result in heightened or persistent levels of stress, anxiety, hyperactivity, and sleep disturbance.
Nature or nurture?
As we can see, neurotransmitters are neither good nor bad. It’s all about balance. We’re a human cocktail of them, and their levels change massively in response to our external experience. Environment, or rather the ‘life we are living’, is one of the key drivers of which neurotransmitters are more active.
However there also seem to be individual differences in terms of how well we make and respond to certain neurotransmitters. Genetics may play a part and some people may be less able to make normal levels of GABA or for their nerve cell ‘receptors’ (which receive the GABA signals) to respond properly. This could result in a tendency towards greater stress levels or even anxiety.
It certainly seems to be the case that some people are more susceptible to dopamine fluctuations, and experience greater dips in dopamine, that make them more likely to develop addictive behaviours, such as gambling or alcohol addiction.
Our past experience also changes the way our nervous system wiring works. If we experience trauma in life, our stress response adapts accordingly often making us more sensitised to stress. It seems to lower our threshold of resilience, our ‘tipping point’, so we are much more vulnerable. This is a potential mechanism in post-traumatic stress disorder.
Taken altogether, it’s easy to see why mental health issues are on the rise. Even if we don’t characterise ourselves as being ‘unwell’ as such, we are all on a continuum of mental wellness, at different points in terms of calmness (vs. distressed), contentment (vs. unhappiness), fulfilled (vs. unfulfilled), purposeful (vs. apathetic) and so on. To feel like we’re at the wrong point along the line for one or all of those creates a disequilibrium that we need to reconcile.
How can I regulate my nervous system naturally?
So, how can help our dysregulated nervous system become regulated again, and create a better sense of balance and connection with the world?
First and foremost, we can leverage the fact that our environment and how we engage with it is key to the balance of neurotransmitters. If the structure of our day isn’t giving our nervous system the range of experience it craves, then there will be an imbalance.
Simple changes to stimulate our brains differently can have a huge impact, helping the neurotransmitters to find their own balance naturally.
Choose a few of the following simple, achievable changes to incorporate into your week, remembering that the strategy that works is the one you can actually do (so not unrealistic)!
- Ensure appropriate predictability for the nervous system – stick to a routine in terms of work, rest (including sleep) and play. Also make sure your mealtimes are regular.
- Add in new activities or reinvigorate an old one – a hobby you can lose yourself in and that changes your mental focus. A sport, puzzles, reading, learning a new technical or creative skill like painting.
- Find a way to include downtime during the working day and especially in the evening. Find what works for you – yoga, mindfulness, walking, or listening to music.
- Reframe – use reflection, journaling or conversations with others to express your thoughts and feelings and help put them in perspective.
- Build in time with others – to socialise in person, converse, or do joint activities (e.g., sports or games). Interacting with others promotes the hormone oxytocin which reduces stress response. Getting back to our pre-pandemic levels of interaction alone would potentially support our mental health greatly.
- Engage with nature – gardening or walks in parks or the countryside, preferably in the morning, stimulate the senses in different ways promoting natural levels of GABA, serotonin and dopamine.
While these might seem obvious, it’s often the case that we are not finding time to do them. Perhaps we’ve forgotten how to be different?
Try to structure some of the above into your week to remind yourself how different it can feel.
Which nutrients support a regulated nervous system?
Our nervous system is dependent on many key nutrients that help us create neurotransmitters, support their activity and ensure balance. Alongside some lifestyle changes, these can really help:
- Folate, vitamin B12, vitamin C and D are vital for synthesis and function of serotonin and dopamine. Including the active form of folate (also called 5-MTHF or methyl folate) alone improves mood in depression/bipolar disorder.[1]
- Magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6 are vital for production of GABA, with magnesium research showing reduced anxiety and supporting sleep.[2]
- Omega 3 fats help maintain healthy cell membranes including in the nerve cells, so improves the responsiveness of those cells to neurotransmitters. Taking fish oil supplements has been shown to reduce depression.[3]
- Gut support – the good bugs in our guts help to keep the ‘microbiome’ of all the bacteria there in the right balance. Our gut is a busy metabolic factory, breaking down and creating all kinds of chemicals including neurotransmitters like GABA. Supplementing the right kind of probiotics, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus, supports GABA levels, and reduces inflammation and anxiety.[4]
In practical terms you can support overall nervous system balance by taking a good multivitamin and mineral, containing the 5-MTHF form of folate. Preferably take this earlier in the day to support energy and mood. Also add in an omega 3 supplement (vegan or fish oil) and probiotic, including Lactobacillus rhamnosus.
If you need more specific support to help with stress/anxiety, certain herbs can help
Lemon balm naturally increases GABA levels, reducing symptoms of anxiety, stress and insomnia.[5] The amino acid L-theanine blocks the stress chemical glutamate and also decreases anxiety.[6] A useful stress-busting combo is a lemon balm, theanine and magnesium supplement. 5HTP, naturally present in griffonia plant seeds, increases brain serotonin levels.[7] In combination with vitamin B6 and zinc, it can help improve mood and motivation.
Conclusion
Stress is ever-present in the modern world and it’s easy to become overwhelmed and begin to feel a lack of congruence in our everyday lives.
However, by supporting our natural resilience using nutrition and making small but important changes to our lifestyles, we can take control, find a new state of balance and restore harmony to our nervous system. Choose what you can change and start to feel differently today.
References
[1] Nierenberg AA et al. L-Methylfolate For Bipolar I depressive episodes: An open trial proof-of-concept registry. J Affect Disord. 2016:1(207):429-433.
[2] Rawji A, et al. Examining the Effects of Supplemental Magnesium on Self-Reported Anxiety and Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2024 Apr 29;16(4):e59317.
[3] Burhani MD, Rasenick MM. Fish oil and depression: The skinny on fats. J Integr Neurosci. 2017;16(s1):S115-S124.
[4] Foster, McVey Neufeld. Gut-brain axis: how the microbiome influences anxiety and depression. Trends Neurosci. 2013; 36 (5): 305-12.
[5] Cases J et al. Pilot trial of Melissa officials L leaf in the treatment of volunteers suffering from mild to moderate anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. Med j Nutrition Metab 2011;4(3):211-218.
[6] Yoto, A, et al.. Effects of L-theanine or caffeine intake on changes in blood pressure under physical and psychological stresses. J Physiol Anthropol. 2012 Oct 29;31(1):28.
[7] Jangid ,P. et al. Comparative study of efficacy of l-5-hydroxytryptophan and fluoxetine in patients presenting with first depressive episode. Asian J Psychiatr. 2013;6(1):29-34.
All of our blogs are written by our team of expert Nutritional Therapists. If you have questions regarding the topics that have been raised, or any other health matters, please do contact them using the details below:
nutrition@cytoplan.co.uk
01684 310099
Find out what makes Cytoplan different
Last updated on 18th July 2025 by cytoffice
