The Hidden Cost of Nursing Stress
Nurses are carrying impossible loads. Long shifts, constant alarms, and high patient acuity. Short staffing, nurse bullying, being asked to do more with less; the list goes on. As nurses, our nervous systems are always “on”. But what happens when we never reset?
Burnout, anxiety, and even physical illness become the norm.
Nervous system regulation isn’t just self-care — it is the foundation of true healing.
When the Nervous System Gets Stuck in Overdrive
The autonomic nervous system is designed to help us adapt and control our unconscious bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion. The sympathetic nervous system, one division of the autonomic nervous system, helps us to respond to danger and stress. If you are all of a sudden being chased by a huge bear, your sympathetic nervous system responds by flooding your body with the “go” chemicals, adrenaline, cortisol, and norepinephrine. It allows us to run fast or fight if we need to. In contrast, during non-threatening times, another division called the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in and helps divert the attention back to relaxation, rest, repair, and digestion.
This is healthy and natural when it’s working properly. Ideally, most of our time should be spent in the parasympathetic rest and digest phase, only using the sympathetic system when there is a threat or danger. But what happens when you work in an environment where you are constantly stressed? Back-to-back 12-hour shifts of critically ill patients while being understaffed and under-supported? Or an environment where you are subjected to constant bullying? Or any of a number of a myriad of situations where a nurse may be stressed?
In these situations, your nervous system can get stuck in fight or flight, even on your days off. This leaves your nervous system constantly under duress, with little if any time to shift back into a parasympathetic state.
When the brain gets stuck in fight or flight, this is actually our body’s way of trying to protect ourselves – but unfortunately, it can have some dire consequences.
What is Nervous System Regulation?
Nervous system regulation is a big buzzword these days, and for good reason. It’s a key part of not only nurse wellness, but wellness in general . But what the heck is nervous system regulation anyway?
To be honest, I had never heard of it before dealing with a chronic, debilitating illness. Being a nurse, I knew the basics about the nervous system – central nervous system versus peripheral nervous system and the autonomic versus somatic nervous system. I also knew about the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”) versus the parasympathetic nervous system (“rest and digest”).
But I had no idea that I was dealing with a chronically dysregulated nervous system that was playing a huge part in my chronic stress and anxiety and eventual physical illness. Turns out, I was in constant fight or flight mode for way too long.
When we are in constant fight or flight, our bodies have trouble coming back to the parasympathetic rest and digest phase. Our brains start interpreting even small things as a danger or threat, our adrenaline and cortisol stay elevated, hormones shift, and the brain can struggle to process emotions.
This can lead to symptoms such as:
- irritability
- racing thoughts
- poor sleep
- anxiety
- fatigue
- digestive issues, and more.
The symptoms can further compound into other, more complex physical symptoms if left untreated.
Unfortunately, I found myself in this situation in the midst of the COVID pandemic in 2020, and I know I am not alone. While not a 100% contributing factor to my chronic illness, my nervous system played an enormous part in perpetuating it.
So what can we do when our nervous systems get stuck in fight or flight mode?
This is where nervous system regulation comes in. Nervous System Regulation is a set of tools we can use to help bring our bodies and minds back into the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” part of our nervous system. These tools work to stimulate or activate our vagus nerve, a key moderator of the parasympathetic system.
Nervous System Regulation Tools for Nurses
There are numerous tools you can build as a practice into your day, even at work. However, what may work for one person may not work for another, or you likely may need a combination of the tools to soothe your nervous system. It’s important to find which ones work for you, and to not try to take on too many.
Here are just a few examples of nervous system regulation tools:
Breath work
Breathing practices stimulate the vagus nerve and shift the body toward calm. Try:
- Box Breathing: Inhale 6 seconds → hold 6 → exhale 6 → hold 6.
- Voo Breath: Inhale slowly, exhale with a long “voooooo.”
- Long Exhales: Any pattern with longer exhales than inhales helps activate the parasympathetic response.
Even 1–2 minutes on a break can reset your system.
Meditation and Mindfulness
Meditation helps retrain the brain away from constant stress loops. Mindfulness—pausing to notice thoughts and emotions without judgment—creates space between stress and response. It’s not easy at first, but consistency builds resilience.
Even taking 1-2 minutes during a work break to practice mindfulness or meditate is a great tool for nurse wellness.
Grounding
Grounding restores calm by connecting the body to the present. Try noticing five things you can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Or simply press your feet into the earth, grass, or sand after a long shift. These small practices signal safety to the nervous system.
Movement and Somatic Therapy
This is one of my personal favorites and something that really helps me. Moving the body to dispel pent-up energy is a form of what is known as somatic therapy. Somatic therapy is based on the belief of a mind and body connection; that emotions and trauma can get trapped in the body, and movement can help release them.
Oftentimes I feel that I am unable to quiet my mind enough to do something like meditation or breath work if my anxiety or emotions are too strong, so movement helps bring my body back into the “window of tolerance” as one therapist once explained to me.
Imagine a lioness on the hunt, and it just spotted a gazelle after not eating for 3 days. As soon as the lioness creeps up to the gazelle, it’s on! Fight or flight. All the “go” hormones start flooding, and the lioness is sprinting after the gazelle. Now, are you going to be able to tell the lioness in the middle of a chase to leave the gazelle alone to go lie down and meditate right then? Heck no. The lioness is going to chase that gazelle and dispel all that pent-up primal energy until she catches the gazelle, runs out of energy, or gets called off the chase for another reason.
So it’s the same when your emotions or anxiety are running high. Sometimes your emotions are running full speed after the gazelle, and you need to get out that energy before you can come back to a “window of tolerance”. Once you reach a window of tolerance, then you can sit down and meditate or do some breath work.
There are many different somatic exercises you may choose from. Some examples include:
- Yoga
- Tai Chi
- Shaking
- Dancing
Shaking and dancing are two of my favorite nervous system regulation tools, and something that can be done at work.
Shaking your body – literally shaking out your shoulders, your arms, your hands, your legs, your feet. Anything to help the body physically release. You can do it for as little as say 30 seconds. This is a great one to use at work. Head to the bathroom and, as T-Swift says, shake it off! (This, by the way, is a GREAT song to employ for my other favorite somatic exercise of dancing!) Just be sure to lock the door so someone doesn’t walk in on you and think you are having a seizure.
Dancing is also incredible for this. Even if it’s just gently swaying from side to side with one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly. Or find some music that moves you in some way, whether its gentle meditation music, music that makes you feel beautiful, or music you need to get out some rage to.
I have made several playlists based on my moo,d and when I feel anxious or upset, I put on that playlist and dance it out!
Mind and Body Connection in Nurse Wellness
The mind–body connection is the constant communication between your thoughts, emotions, and physical body. It’s the recognition that what happens in your mind directly affects your physiology—and that what happens in your body shapes your thoughts and emotions in return. It’s a fascinating concept to explore, and I believe it is one of the most important, if not foundational, aspects of true healing.
Nervous system regulation is what makes this connection possible. When your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight, your body stays flooded with stress hormones and your mind gets trapped in survival mode—racing thoughts, poor sleep, anxiety, and digestive issues. The brain and body stop communicating clearly.
But when you practice regulation, you activate the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state. This not only calms your heart rate and breathing—it restores the two-way communication between body and brain. Your body signals to your mind that you are safe, and your mind sends messages of safety and calm back to your body.
This is the mind–body connection in action: a feedback loop that allows both physical healing and emotional balance. Without nervous system regulation, the loop breaks down. With it, the mind and body work together to build resilience, energy, and even joy.
True healing isn’t about choosing between mind or body—it’s about restoring the connection between both.
If you are interested in exploring more of the mind-body connection, there’s a ton of good books out there. Some books of note I recommend reading are:
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk – studies on how trauma is stored in the body, if you’re looking for some concrete evidence, but the book is a bit heavy emotionally.
- Dr. Joe Dispenza – all of his books are amazing! Becoming Supernatural or Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself are great places to start. He is a chiropractor who was involved in a pedestrian versus car accident, broke his back in multiple places, and was told he would never walk again. He used the power of his mind to heal his body and devotes his time teaching, writing, and running workshops on how to use the power of your mind and thus emphasizing the mind-body connection
- Dr. Dheepak Chopra – such as Quantum Healing or Ageless Body, Timeless Mind are also great and explore the mind-body connection. Dr. Chopra is a world-renowned physician and alternative medicine advocate.
- When the Body Says No – Dr. Gabor Mate. Dr. Gabor Mate is an incredible physician and healer, who digs deep beyond the physical disease and explores the connection between stress and disease.
Healing the Healers
As nurses, we give so much of ourselves that it’s easy to forget our own needs until burnout forces us to pay attention. Nervous system regulation is the foundation of nurse wellness and the key to rebuilding the mind–body connection that allows true healing to happen.
One of the most powerful ways to restore your nervous system is to step outside of the constant stress cycle and immerse yourself in environments that naturally support rest, renewal, and connection. That’s why I created Never Lost Travel—to offer trips that aren’t just vacations, but intentional opportunities to reset your nervous system, reconnect with yourself, and rediscover joy.
Looking ahead, I’m working on weaving these principles directly into nurse wellness retreats. In fact, I’m planning a retreat in Bali next June—a place of healing traditions, sacred ceremonies, and natural beauty designed to nourish both body and soul.
If this speaks to you, or you just want a chance to travel to beautiful exotic places, be sure to stay tuned for more updates. Head on over to my website, neverlosttravel.net, to learn more and subscribe for updates about trips and more tips on nurse wellness!
Cheers to healing the healers.
