Feeling Stuck in Stress Mode? Five Minutes to Support Your Nervous System

This is where getting practical can make a big difference. Reducing stress is not a destination you eventually arrive at. It is a practice of creating small signals throughout the day that remind your body you are safe.

When we practise calming techniques regularly, they become easier to access during more challenging moments.

Here are three simple practices. Pick the one that resonates the most with you.

Your breath is one of the few ways you can consciously influence your nervous system.

How are you starting your morning? Are you reaching for your phone, rushing to get other people up or pressing the snooze button?

Instead of doing any of these, programme your alarm two minutes before you have to leave your bed and use this short moment to set your intentions for the day or practice a positive affirmation before going into autopilot.

Setting intentions deliberately interrupts this autopilot cycle, forcing our brain to create new neural pathways and interrupt the same routines and thought patterns not serving us.

If mornings feel like the hardest part of the day, I have shared a simple morning nervous system ritual here.

Exposure to nature has been shown to lower cortisol levels - the hormone the adrenal glands produce in response to stress. Reducing this hormone’s levels can lead to feelings of relaxation and calmness.

You can walk through your local park, look out the window while taking a drink break, or have your morning cuppa in the garden.

You get the bonus of receiving natural light in the morning, which has been linked to better sleep.

The aim is not to create another thing on your to-do list.

Your nervous system responds well to small, repeated signals.

Five minutes might feel insignificant, but repeated moments of breathing, slowing down and reconnecting with your body can gradually create a different pattern.

Start small.

Choose one practice.

Repeat it often.

Small daily practices can be a helpful place to start, but if stress, anxiety, poor sleep, tension or overwhelm have become part of your everyday life, your nervous system may need more consistent support.

In clinic, I combine acupuncture with naturopathic, nutrition and lifestyle support to look at the bigger picture.

Rather than giving you a generic list of wellness tips, the aim is to create a personalised plan that works with your body, your symptoms and your life.