Feeling Overstimulated? Try These Nervous System “Snacks"

Feeling overstimulated, anxious, exhausted, or like your body can never fully relax?

Your nervous system may be under more stress than you realize — and over time, chronic stress can impact sleep, inflammation, hormones, mood, and even long-term brain health.

In this subscriber bonus episode of Wellness After 40, we’re talking about “nervous system snacks” — tiny daily habits that help signal safety to the body and support regulation in midlife.

From humming and longer exhales to sunlight and mindful movement, we explore the science behind why these small practices can make a real difference.

Its time to take a break, and enjoy a "snack" !

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to Wellness After 40. And today I wanted to do a short subscriber episode inspired by something I saw recently online that I actually really, really loved. It was this phrase called nervous system snacks, like snacks, like little food. And really, this nervous system snacks are tiny little moments throughout the day that help to regulate your body instead of waiting until you're completely overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious, overstimulated, burned out, you know, like being in your 40s. A lot of us are walking around with nervous systems that are just overloaded. We are juggling work and changes in our hormones. We are caregiving. We are getting notifications left and right on our phones. We are dealing with different types of stresses, overloaded with information, have tons of expectations. I think the list can go on and on. And then we're so curious like, why are we feeling so wired and tired and reactive and unable to decompress, unable to get a full night's sleep? Our nervous systems are not designed for non-stop input. And in the current world that we live in, that's probably the thing that we get the most input all the time. And what I found really interesting is that science is showing us more and more that chronic stress isn't just emotional, it's actually physiological. When our body perceives stress, it activates the sympathetic nervous system called your fight or flight response. And this increases cortisol, our heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and inflammatory signaling. That response is very useful in emergencies. But many people are living there in that state all day long. And over time, science is showing us chronic nervous system stress activation has been associated with things like poor sleep, insulin resistance, increased inflammation, digestive issues, anxiety and depression, memory problems, and even accelerated biological aging. Yikes. There's also growing research looking at how poor sleep and chronic stress may impact long-term brain health and put you at dementia risk. So these tiny little snacks, quote unquote, throughout the day, they are not silly. They're actually helping send cues of safety back to the brain and to our bodies. One thing I did want to mention: a lot of this work is through different science studies of what we call the vagus nerve, which is something that you have in your body. And it is a major communication pathway between the brain and your body. The vagus nerve helps regulate heart rate, digestion, breathing, and your ability to shift into a calmer parasympathetic state. What we often call as the rest and digest versus the fight or flight. So let's go through a few of these nervous system snacks together, shall we? And why they actually may really help you. The first one, humming. This one sounds a little strange until you understand the science. Humming creates a vibration in the throat and the vocal cords, which may stimulate the vagus nerve. It also naturally lengthens the exhale slightly, and longer exhales are associated with calming the nervous system. For even 30 seconds can help shift your breathing pattern. Longer exhales is another little snack. This one is very simple, and you already do it if you're trying to hum. But when exhale is longer than your inhale, it signals to the body that you are safe enough to slow down. So that's why taking a breathing pattern like breathing in, inhale for four, and exhaling for six can sometimes lower your heart rate and help reduce physiological stress. Peripheral vision. Okay, so this one was very fascinating. When we're stressed, our vision actually narrows and we become hyper-focused. It's almost like a tunnel vision. But intentionally softening your gaze and noticing the space around you may help signal to the brain that danger has passed. It's almost like telling your nervous system, I don't need you to scan for threats right now. You can relax. So softening your gaze is one of the little nervous system snacks. Next up, morning sunlight. This one has the most evidence-based things on the list because morning sunlight helps regulate your circadian rhythm, your cortisol timing, and your melatonin production later at night. Even five to ten minutes of outdoor morning light can support quality in your sleep, mood, and energy regulation. So just trying to experience five minutes in sun, maybe taking some deep inhales, exhales, humming is going to get you right on task. Next snack is a weighted blanket or finding some deep pressure on the body. So gentle pressure on your body may increase feelings of safety and grounding. And some studies suggest that weighted blankets can help reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality in certain individuals. It's similar to like why a good hug or placing a hand on your chest can feel calming. So not power walking, not trying to just close your rings, but just walking slowly and mindfully. This rhythmic movement can actually be incredibly regulating to your nervous system. I read a study recently that walking alone helps to give your brain a like a reset and relax because it's like a bilateral stimulation. One leg, one arm moving independently is one way to actually help relax the brain. And walking also can help process stress by working with your hormones and helping you instinctively start to relax. This next snack was actually, I thought was pretty funny. It's the joy of missing out. So FOMO no mo, it's J-O-M-O, the joy of missing out. I really like seeing this one on the list because now that I get older, the more I'm like, oh no, plans are canceled. Like that's the most relieving thing sometimes for us. Because our nervous system can take a break. So the joy of missing out is saying no, leaving earlier, maybe just turning off your phone, not attending every event, and protecting your energy. So, what did you think of the snacks? Hopefully, you're able to grab one and use it today. And I think that the bigger message here is that we tend to think wellness only counts if it's intense. A hard workout, a really restricted diet, lots of different supplements, 90-minute routines. But the science says that tiny moments repeated consistently can change how your body feels. And after 40, I think this becomes very important. So maybe wellness isn't always about doing more. Sometimes it's about doing something small. Thank you so much for tuning in and being a subscriber to the Wellness After 40 podcast. I love hearing from you. So please let me know what you as a subscriber would like to hear more of. Thank you so much for tuning in. And until next time, this is Wellness After 40.