Balance is Key to a Healthy Nervous System – And Here's Why
In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining a balanced nervous system is essential for overall well-being. Between juggling work, relationships, caregiving responsibilities, pets, and the relentless stream of global events, it’s easy to lose sight of your own needs. Yet ironically, it's often in those busiest moments that our bodies demand balance most urgently — forcing us to stop and pay attention.
A lack of balance can lead to serious consequences such as burnout, fatigue, chronic illness, stress, anxiety, and depression. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explains, “When the brain is not functioning in a coordinated manner, the capacity to respond flexibly is compromised” (The Body Keeps the Score, 2014). In other words, without balance, our nervous systems can spiral into dysregulation, impacting our ability to cope with everyday life.
What Is a "Happy" Nervous System?
A regulated or "happy" nervous system is one that can manage stress effectively, allowing you to think clearly, feel deeply, and make decisions that align with your values. It’s about having emotional responses that are proportionate to the situation and returning to a calm state after experiencing stress.
Dr. Stephen Porges, the founder of the Polyvagal Theory, emphasizes this point: “The ability to feel safe is critical to our health. Without that sense of safety, our nervous system shifts into defensive states — fight, flight, freeze, or shut down” (The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory, 2017). These defensive states — commonly referred to as the 5 F’s (Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn, and Faint) — signal a dysregulated nervous system.
While emotional responses are natural, difficulty in regulating these emotions can trap us in a prolonged stress response. As Deb Dana, a licensed clinical social worker and expert on Polyvagal Theory, notes, “We don’t get to choose whether we go into a survival state. But we can learn to recognize the state and choose how to respond” (The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy, 2018).
Understanding Your Unique Nervous System
The good news is that regulation can be learned. By becoming aware of your body’s signals and emotional patterns, you can begin to build resilience. This includes developing practices that support you in returning to a regulated state more quickly and with less effort over time.
One simple yet powerful tool is the acronym HALT — ask yourself if you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. These basic needs, when unmet, can destabilize your nervous system and reduce your capacity to respond with patience and clarity. As psychiatrist Dr. Dan Siegel explains, “When we are tired or hungry, the brain’s ability to regulate emotion is reduced” (The Whole-Brain Child, 2011).
Adequate sleep, regular physical activity, and nourishing food are foundational. But they’re only part of the picture.
Beyond the Basics: Additional Tools for Regulation
Neuroscience increasingly supports the use of mindfulness, meditation, time in nature, and sensory-based activities to promote nervous system regulation. A 2015 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that mindfulness-based interventions “significantly reduce stress, anxiety, and physiological arousal by enhancing emotion regulation capacity.”
Still, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. As Dr. Kristin Neff, a leading researcher on self-compassion, writes: “Each individual needs to find their own rhythm, their own way of responding to suffering and stress with care and understanding” (Self-Compassion, 2011).
Here are some personalized strategies that can support nervous system health:
Speaking with a trusted loved one or therapist
Identifying personal triggers and planning how to respond mindfully
Experimenting with coping tools to find what resonates
Engaging in sensory-soothing practices (e.g., warm baths, brushing your hair, sitting in the sun, or simply breathing mindfully)
Structuring your day with routines that create predictability and stability
Learning about the “Window of Tolerance” — a concept developed by Dr. Dan Siegel that describes the optimal zone of arousal in which we function best
Avoiding overcommitment and recognizing when to say no
Tuning into biological signals — hunger, fatigue, emotional overwhelm — and responding with care
An Invitation to Listen
Take a moment now. Close your eyes. Ask yourself gently:
“What does my body need right now?”
“What do I need right now?”
Your inner voice — your body’s intelligence — often knows the answer. As somatic therapist Resmaa Menakem notes, “The body, not the thinking brain, is where we experience most of our pain, pleasure, joy, fear, longing, hope, and love” (My Grandmother’s Hands, 2017).
Listening to and honoring your nervous system is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. The more you understand its cues, the more empowered you are to create a life of balance, resilience, and calm.