A hill I’ll die on is that hormonal symptoms are whispers from your body that something needs a little TLC. When you have hormonal symptoms, they make it more difficult to see physique changes and or to feel good in your skin.
But there’s something deeper that could be causing your hormonal symptoms or making them worse:
Your nervous system.
If your nervous system is constantly dysregulated, your body is working hard to make you feel safe, which ultimately impacts your hormones and gives you more symptoms.
Signs your nervous system is out of whack
There are several signs – both physical and mental – that your nervous system is not regulated.
Physically,
➡️ If you’re always tired or fatigued, no matter how much sleep you get or how much caffeine you drink
➡️ If you gain weight very easily and it’s harder to budge or lose weight
➡️ If you have sleep issues, specifically waking up in the middle of the night and your brain turning on with a laundry list of to do’s
➡️ If you have digestive issues – either bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or a combination of all three that you cycle through
Mentally,
➡️ If you have anxiety or depression
➡️ If you have memory issues
➡️ And if you have frequent brain fog
These are all signs that your body has been living in a high stress place for a long time and it’s impacting your nervous system.
A lot of these signs are also similar to hormonal symptoms, which is no coincidence.
Your nervous system’s impact on your hormones
Your nervous system is resilient and can regulate itself. However, when it is constantly on overdrive, that’s when you’ll experience the physical and mental impacts and hormonal disruption.
Chronically Elevated Cortisol
Your cortisol being chronically elevated is the start of your nervous system issues. Remember, stress is normal and not a bad thing. Your body was made to release cortisol for short periods of time.
But when you are constantly living in a high stress environment, fast paced lifestyle, doing high intensity workouts and not taking days off, getting little sleep, dieting, and more, this leads to chronically elevated cortisol and will zap your nervous system.
Adrenaline Overload
While living with chronically elevated cortisol, your epinephrine (aka, your adrenaline) hormone surges. This leads to an increased heart rate and blood pressure levels.
Sex Hormone Impacts
When your cortisol is chronically elevated, it negatively impacts your reproductive hormones, like your progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
This impact can lead to irregular periods, missing periods, heavier periods, worsened PMS, reduced libido, and difficulty conceiving.
Remember that your periods are also a receipt of your internal health.
Brain Chemistry
And finally, chronic stress impacts your brain chemistry balance. Neurotransmitters like your serotonin (your feel good hormone) and dopamine (your reward hormone) are negatively impacted.
When your serotonin levels and dopamine levels are negatively affected, it can lead to emotional instability, irritability, depression, and anxiety.
Supporting your nervous system
When your nervous system doesn’t feel supported, there will be hormonal chaos that follows. Supporting your nervous system doesn’t need to be difficult or cause more stress. In fact, it’s important to find what works for you so that it doesn’t cause more stress.
Here are a few things to focus on when supporting your nervous system:
Healthy daily habits
When you have your healthy daily habits down, everything else becomes easier. Though this can and should look different for everyone, I recommend:
✨ Getting 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep. Sleep is where your brain and hormones repair themselves and your nervous system allows itself to relax.
✨ Be physically active. While your nervous system is in overdrive, I recommend keeping your heart rate in zone 2 to prevent further damage. Getting light movement helps regulate your body’s stress response.
✨ Find mindful moments. For some people this may be breathwork and meditation, for others it may be getting outside and grounding, and for some it may be legs up the wall or stretching. Find what works for you and make a routine of it.
✨ Social connection. This one is often overlooked, but keeping strong and positive relationships in your life will signal safety to your body. Pick your community wisely. Pick the community that fills you up!
Nervous System Nutrition
You already know how important it is to keep your blood sugar levels stable to support your hormones, but you here are some nutrients should focus on to support your nervous system:
✨ Magnesium-rich foods, like leafy greens, nuts, and dark chocolate to support your nervous system. You can also supplement with magnesium.
✨ Omega-3 Fatty Acids, like salmon, flaxseed, and walnuts to support your nerve functions.
✨ Vitamin B12, through eggs, dairy, and lean meats, to help regenerate your hormones.
✨ And hydrate hydrate hydrate! This will make sure you have proper nerve signalling in your nervous system.
There are several things you should avoid when your nervous system is dysregulated:
➡️ Though stress is normal, the repetitive and high stress situations or people can continue to cause worsened stress in your body and do further damage to your nervous system. Protect your peace!
➡️ Substances like environmental toxins (you can check yours here!) and alcohol can have a negative impact on your nervous system and hormones.
➡️ And finally, information overload can impact your nervous system. Mental fatigue and overstimulation will keep your cortisol levels high. Keep an eye out for the news you consume, the social media you scroll, and how much you google.
In conclusion…
If you’ve been working on your hormonal symptoms for a while, checking in with your nervous system and making sure it’s feels calm and regulated will also benefit your hormone health and how you feel in your skin.
Your hormone homework is to audit your stress levels because it all stems from there. Are you overly stressed? What are some of your stress triggers? What are some areas of opportunity to improve your stress?
If you want to dig in more, let’s schedule a complimentary Hormone Analysis Call!
