The Global Wellness Summit named neurowellness one of the biggest wellness trends of 2026. Forbes ran an article in June titled: "Why Nervous System Regulation Has Become Wellness's Latest Obsession." And #nervoussystemhealing brings up hundreds of thousands of videos on TikTok, many of them promising to fix your life with a breathing exercise and a cold plunge.

As someone who has been talking about this for a few years now, it's great to see information spreading, but like all things that go viral - some of what you see is brilliant and some of it, not so much.

So let's talk about it. What does nervous system regulation actually mean? Where has the trend lost the plot a bit? How can you use this in your daily life and business without buying a single vagus nerve device?

Why is everyone suddenly talking about the nervous system?

An idea that circulated in academic and clinical circles for years finally reached the internet, and the internet loves a hack. Polyvagal theory* and trauma-informed care spent a long time in academic and clinical literature before social media got hold of them. It's been speculated that the shared experience of trauma and isolation during the COVID pandemic combined with the increase in social media use during that period created a surge of interest and online discussion on these topics.

*Note that the theory underneath a lot of this is itself has been subject to debate recently. A large group of neuroscientists published a challenge to polyvagal theory in early 2026, and its founder, Stephen Porges has responded. The usefulness of tracking your nervous system state isn't in question; it's more about the neuroanatomy as outlined in the theory. - 6 August, 2026.

Conversations escaped the therapy room and turned up in social media feeds, on wellness podcasts, and in the marketing for every breathwork app and calming device going.

There's a reason why these ideas resonate. People have tried thinking their way to calm for decades and it frankly hasn't worked. I know this from my own experience and from working with clients as a coach and therapist for over two decades. The nervous system explanation resonates because it finally explains why. You can't reason with a body that's braced for threat. That part is true, and it's very useful to understand.

What does nervous system regulation actually mean?

Regulation means flexibility: the capacity to move between alert and calm depending on what the moment actually needs.

Most of the content online treats regulation as a synonym for staying calm. I admit I've been guilty of this over-simplification myself; but actually that's not what any of us should be going for.

A regulated nervous system can ramp up when you need to present or handle something hard, then settle back down afterwards. You want a body that can shift gears and then recover. Activation is part of the process, so the goal is to have a system that is flexible to move and respond, not one that's stuck idling in one state.

Think of it like a car. A healthy engine can accelerate and slow down. A dysregulated system is stuck with the accelerator jammed (anxious, wired, can't switch off) or stalled entirely (flat, numb, avoidant). Regulation means getting the gears working again, not idling in the driveway forever.

If you're interested in how to do this in practice, I created a free PDF guide and a 7-day audio series called 'But first, regulate'. You can sign up here and I'll email it straight to you. www.cassdunn.com/regulate.

Where has the nervous system trend gone a bit silly?

I think online advice has a tendency to reduce everything to a 3 minute 'quick tip' and oversell the benefits. The wellness version implies you can optimise your way to a perfectly calm body with the right device. And none of these nervous system regulation tools is looking at the root cause of why your threat response is being activated in the first place.

The Global Wellness Summit's own 2026 report predicts a backlash against high-tech, high-effort wellness because oversimplifying regulation gives people an unrealistic sense of control over their own physiology, and then they feel like failures when the breathing exercise or cold plunge doesn't magically cure your anxiety in a high-stress situation.

There's a particular irony for women in business here, especially the high achieving perfectionists. We take a tool that's meant to reduce shame and self-pressure, and turn it into one more thing to get right.

Unfortunately, any helpful tool or practice that's sold as a 'quick fix' is skipping a lot of important detail. The irony is that your nervous system responds to safety, and the more you criticise yourself for your failed attempts to calm down, the more activated you become.

What does this mean if you run a business?

Your capacity to manage your schedule, send an invoice, post content, or raise your rates depends far more on the state of your nervous system than the decision in your brain or task on your to-do list.

This is the bit people miss, and it's the one that counts most for the people I work with. To your nervous system, hitting publish on Instagram or emailing a client about an overdue payment can register as a threat for many reasons that have nothing to do with what's happening in this moment.

When your threat response is activated, your heart rate increases, thinking narrows, the urge to avoid kicks in. That's your threat response doing what it evolved to do.

This is why willpower and mindset and strategy is often not the answer to your confidence or productivity problems. You can't talk your nervous system into feeling safe.

The phrase 'story follows state' means that the thoughts your mind produces are reflective of the state of your nervous system. When you're dysregulated or activated, the story your mind tells you is that you're not good enough, you'll be found out, and everyone will see through you. Regulate first, and that story quietens on its own.

This connects directly to imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and burnout, which are physiological patterns as much as psychological ones. The mindset work only sticks once the body underneath it feels safe enough to let it in. This is the work I do with women entrepreneurs in my coaching program, Beyond Confident.

How do you work with your nervous system?

Start by noticing your state. If you're accustomed to living in your head and engaging with the world through the world of thoughts (like many people are), it might feel challenging at first to tune into what's happening in your body.

Is there tension in your face, jaw, brow, shoulders? Are you breathing high in your chest or deep into your belly? Are you fidgeting or twitchy or do you have an urge to move? What's the temperature of your skin? Are there sensations in your belly, chest, throat?

Just be curious and notice what's here. Your body is talking to you all the time but mostly we're too preoccupied by our thoughts to notice it.

And the problem is you're trying to solve the problem with your thinking mind but you can't reframe your thinking when your body's in threat mode.

You don't necessarily need a device, an ice bath, or a subscription. Just notice when you're activated (tight chest, shallow breath, that urge to close the laptop and clean the kitchen instead). Do one thing that signals safety to your body: a slow exhale that's longer than the inhale, feet on the floor, a short walk, actual rest. Then, once you're steadier, deal with the task or the thought.

What helps is understanding what your body is doing and why, so you can stop treating yourself like the problem. The particular technique is almost beside the point.

Good enough is good enough here too. You're aiming for a nervous system that can wobble and recover, which is what being a functioning human in a busy world requires.

If you'd like me to send you my 'But first, regulate' free pdf guide and 7-day audio series, sign up HERE and I'll send it straight to you.

Cass xo