How to Take Care of Your Nervous System as a Leader

Taking care of your nervous system is probably the most important thing you could ever do in life, especially as a leader.

You may be familiar with the term self-care, but that can be a vague buzz word that brings visions of spa manicures to mind.  That’s not exactly what I’m talking about.

When I talk about self-care, I’m talking about self-regulation of your nervous system. Learning to self-regulate is the only way to stay healthy and happy while you create the life, career, or business of your dreams.

How do you take care of your nervous system? How do you regulate your stress response?

When you embark on something new, such as a new business or an adventure that feels daunting and risky, it is full of uncertainty and the unfamiliar.

And as you climb the ladder of success, you’ll encounter new and unfamiliar challenges the higher you go.

Our brains are wired for our survival. They are wired to keep us safe, and anything unfamiliar will activate our stress response, otherwise known as our fight, flight or freeze response.

In other words, you may find yourself getting angry or agitated (fight), or feel like running away (flight). In some cases, you may feel yourself shutdown (freeze). And some people have learned to “fawn,” as a stress response, which is a form of trying to control stress otherwise known as “people pleasing.

We all have a response to stress, and we all have triggers.

Uncertainty is natural trigger for human brains.

The uncertainty in business is a natural activator for the stress response. Your brain is on alert to the potential threats that could be waiting to take you down.

At every new level, your brain will experience this “threat of uncertainty” because it is wired to keep you safe. It’s on alert because it thinks your survival is at risk. And your brain will do everything it can to keep you safely in your comfort zone.

How does the stress response feel? 

It feels like anxiety. It feels like a racing heart or swirling mind that won’t shut down to go to sleep at night. It feels like sweaty palms when you are about to give a presentation or post a video that might get rejected on social media. It could feel like a mild panic attack, or even turn into a full blown one.

Being in the stress response is normal whenever we do something scary, new or exciting. But staying in the stress response can undo all your hard work and make you less effective at what you want to do. When you are in the stress response, you don’t have full access to the smartest part of your brain, your cortex.

So how do you know if you are in the stress response?

7 Ways to Know You Are in the Stress Response

1. You are having trouble sleeping. Insomnia is a sign that your stress response is being activated.

2. You are buzzing around feeling busy but not accomplishing tasks that will lead you to your dreams.

3. You are feeling short-tempered or more argumentative than usual.

4. You keep avoiding the hard parts or procrastinating on tasks. This is especially true of tasks you may be new to doing, or tasks that take a lot of concentration.

5. You’re feeling social anxiety and avoid interacting with people.

6. Your mind is distracted and busy. You have trouble focusing or concentrating. You may shut down.

7. You find yourself reacting to problems instead of being able to choose how to respond.

The stress response can vary from person to person, depending on how much stress or trauma you had in your life or childhood.

Those with more childhood trauma tend to have a higher stress response than those who had peaceful, calm childhood experiences.

Why is it important to take care of your nervous system?

It’s one of the most important skills to understand because you may be fighting the stress response daily, which is an uphill battle.

Not only will you be less likely to think clearly and use your brain creatively, but you won’t be able to tap into your intuition as well when you are in the stress response. 

It’s harder to trust your gut when you are stressed out because you won’t know the difference between your intuition and other the voice in your head which is the voice of your anxious survival brain. Taking care of your nervous system is also called self-regulating.

6 Ways to Take Care of Your Nervous System

1. Get enough sleep.

Getting enough sleep can sometimes be nearly impossible, depending on your situation. What keeps you awake at night? What do you worry about?

Worrying will keep you awake and keep you from getting the sleep you need, which will continue the cycle of dysregulation.  

You may also be pumped up with adrenaline and cortisol, which makes it harder to unwind after an exciting or stressful day. Pair that with an early morning client meeting, and it’s a recipe for an unrestful night’s sleep.

I used to be a teacher, and I was always sleep deprived. I could never fall asleep early enough to be rested by the time my alarm clock rang early in the mornings.

Let yourself sleep well.  Make it your top priority. It’s about quality sleep and listening to your body and your body’s natural rhythms.

2. Get enough REST.

I’m talking about downtime.  If you are like most high achievers, you probably fill your entire day with something to do. If you don’t give yourself some downtime to do nothing, your brain will not be relaxed enough to let your creativity flow and your intuition will have a harder time getting through to you. 

Without enough downtime, you may also have trouble sleeping. This is because the stress hormones will still be pumping through your body by bedtime, keeping you from relaxing.

It is common for high achievers to feel guilty about needing downtime. It’s actually your responsibility to take care of your nervous system and allow for this downtime throughout the week

If you have a really busy Tuesday, let yourself have a lighter Thursday.  You will get farther faster if you give yourself space. Your work will be of higher quality.

3. Get enough movement.

When our brains get dysregulated, movement can calm us down fast.  Plan for some walking breaks throughout the day, and make sure you listen to your body and give it the movement it wants. Sitting for long periods will not create your most productive work.

Several of my clients have considered themselves “procrastinators.” But after we peel back the layers of what’s really happening, the real problem is not taking enough brain breaks.

Your brain needs movement to reset and recharge. Taking a walk break will improve your concentration and you may find that you don’t procrastinate anymore, but you were just dysregulated.

4. Get enough connection.

Make sure you have people you care about to connect with on a regular basis, especially when you are stressed out.  Invite them to go for a walk with you or talk to them on the phone as you walk.  This will help you stay regulated.

5. Get enough creative time.

Your brain wants to create. For me, I like to cook or create new recipes, especially when I’m feeling stressed. If you like to paint, get a canvas and some paints. Just know that you are not wasting your time.  You are spending your time in a way that will improve the quality of your life and work.

You may get a breakthrough idea that changes everything in your business while you are painting or cooking. Most people get their best ideas when the brain is relaxing.

6. Have more fun.

When you enjoy what you do, it won’t feel like work. If it is serious and heavy, you’ll eventually find out ways to avoid doing it.

The more you make what you do feel enjoyable and light, the more fun you’ll have and the less your life and work will feel like one big obligation after another.

A few years ago I worked with a business coaching client who was a serial entrepreneur. He was a creative genius, but he didn’t know how to take care of his nervous system.

Because of this, he jumped from business to business, not letting any of his ideas be fully successful. He did this because for one, he had had a stressful childhood full of trauma and scarcity, and the second reason was he was a visionary genius and was getting ideas so fast he didn’t want to lose any of them.

When we first started working together, I had a hard time convincing him to take care of his nervous system first.  He was afraid to stop hustling long enough to calm down his brain.

But once he took the chance and let himself relax, he was able to see that he had enough time and money, and he was safe.  His family was not in danger, and neither was he, so he was able to focus and calmly do all the things he needed to do to make money. And that’s what he did. He made a lot of money with a calm brain, and it changed everything.

One of the most important things you’ll ever do is learn to take care of your nervous system.

To work with me, book a call here.